PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party candidate, Sanaullah, won the by-election for provincial assembly seat PK-93, Wari, Upper Dir-III according to unofficial and unconfirmed results.

PPP had formed an alliance with the Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), while the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) had announced support for the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) candidate.

According to unofficial results from the constituency’s 120 polling stations, PPP’s Sanaullah managed to secure 21,850, while JI’s Azam Khan bagged 16,120 votes. Voter turnout was approximately 34 per cent.

Read: PPP may give tough time to JI in Upper Dir by-election

The seat had fallen vacant after disqualification of JI MPA Malik Behram Khan in a fake degree case. PML-N, ANP and JUI-F had withdrawn their candidates in favour of PPP's candidate Sanaullah.

The PK-93 seat has always been the stronghold of JI as its candidates had always won elections here, but political observers expected a tough competition this time around.

The JI campaign was badly affected when the election commission recently imposed bans on provincial ministers, MPAs and MNAs to run campaigns for any of the candidates, while there were also reports of some PTI officials supporting the PPP due to internal rifts.

Last week, Dawn reported that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Finance Muzaffar Said had said women would be facilitated to use their constitutional right to vote in the by-election in PK-93, Wari, Upper Dir-III.