UPPER DIR: The by-poll on a provincial assembly seat in Upper Dir proved historic as it brought an end to the dominance of Jamaat-i-Islami in this constituency and enabled the women voters to cast votes freely.

The women voters in the area hadn’t cast their votes freely and in adequate number during the last about four decades. But they broke the shackles on Tuesday when by-election was held on KP-93 Upper Dir-III. The women clad in traditional shuttlecock burqa and shawls turned up at the polling stations in thousands to participate in the election of their representative. According to official figures, 3,860 women polled their votes on the occasion.

In the local government elections in May this year, some local women had cast their votes but they had never used their right to vote in election for any provincial or National Assembly seat.

The women voters cast votes at all polling stations in the constituency, except a few. The highest number of women vote was 914, polled at a polling station in Chapar.

Defeat in by-election leaves JI workers in shock

Another historic aspect of the election was the defeat of JI in the constituency. The JI had been winning the seat for 45 years, except the elections that were boycotted by it. However, when JI boycotted the elections in 2008, a former JI MPA contested the election as an independent and won the seat.

PPP had also a strong vote bank in Upper Dir in the past but it was wiped out in the general elections as well as the local government elections this year. The victory will provide some respite to PPP as it has snatched the most secured seat from JI in Upper Dir.

Interestingly, JI suffered the setback at a time when it is considered to be in the strongest position in the district. The lone MNA from the district belongs to JI. It had also won all the three provincial assembly seats. Moreover, in the local government elections JI formed the district government and several tehsil governments.

The PK-93 fell vacant when Malik Bahram Khan of JI was disqualified for holding a fake degree. PPP’s Sahibzada Sanaullah secured 23,096 votes while JI candidate Malik Azam Khan, the son of disqualified Bahram, bagged 19,095 votes. The defeat left the JI workers in shock. The party lost the election owing to several factors including internal differences in the party.

PPP candidate Sanaullah belongs to influential Sahibzada family. Currently, the family’s Sahibzada Tariqullah is MNA and Sahibzada Fasihullah has been elected district nazim.

Another reason of the JI’s defeat was that its workers were not happy with the disqualified MPA Malik Bahram. They alleged that he was involved in nepotism. “He (Malik Bahram) had deprived me of a contract, which he allotted to someone in his family. Now he has asked for support but how can I support him,” said a senior activist of JI.

The supporters of PTI, an ally of JI, did not vote for its candidate. Even they celebrated the victory of the PPP candidate. The PTI supporters hoisted PPP flag along with PTI’s one on their vehicles and showed jubilation on the defeat of the JI candidate.

The casting of women votes is also considered one of the deciding factors in the defeat of the JI nominee. However, it was unclear as to how many women votes were polled in favour of the PPP candidate.

Sahibzada Sanaullah while addressing the jubilant workers at his residence thanked all political parties that supported him. He said that he would not disappoint people, though his tenure would be less than three years. He said that PPP buried JI’s “45-year-old kingdom” and promised that he would carry out development projects without any discrimination.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2015

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