LAHORE: The ruling PML-N secured a thumping majority by bagging 1,192 posts of union council chairman/vice-chairman, with independents (mostly Leaguers) gaining the second position with 1,065 seats in the first phase of local government elections in Punjab.

The PTI could secure only 285 seats, while some upsets were also reported in various areas in 12 districts on Saturday.

Former ruling parties, PPP and PML-Q, succeeded in clinching only 47 and 44 UCs, respectively. Jamaat-i-Islami and Dr Tahirul Qadri’s Pakistan Awami Tehreek bagged two seats each.

Elections in 33 union councils could not be held or their results were not announced till late Sunday night.

In its stronghold of Lahore, the N-League secured 220 of the 274 offices of union councils. Thirty-one independents were also elected. The PTI got only 13 seats amid what its provincial organiser Chaudhry Sarwar said “disappointing performance as compared to other districts”.

Out of the 80 PPP candidates, only one, from the area under the influence of Samina Ghurki, could succeed, while JI was whitewashed in the provincial metropolis. It lost even in the union council comprising its headquarters in Mansoora.

The ‘attempt’ by Ahmed Salman, son of JI secretary general Liaquat Baloch, to sail through the electoral bout on a PTI ticket also failed.

The chief minister’s special assistant Ilyas Khan, PML-N MPA Habib Awan’s brother Sikandar Awan, MPA Shazia Tariq’s husband Tariq Masih were defeated by independent candidates.

In Faisalabad, the second citadel of the N-League, new and unknown faces defeated all but two members of the established political families.

Those who lost, both from the platforms of the PML-N and PTI, included former district nazim Rana Zahid Touseef, ex-city nazim Mushtaq Cheema, Qasim Farooq (son of MNA Mian Farooq), Aamer Sher Ali (brother of Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali and main candidate of the so-called Mayor Group), Junaid Afzal Sahi (son of Punjab Assembly’s former speaker Afzal Sahi), Malik Riaz and Malik Razzaq (brothers of MPA Nawaz Malik), Taimoor Akhtar (nephew of PML-Q Punjab general secretary and former minister Chaudhry Zahir and Shehzad Moazzam (brother of PTI office-bearer and ex-MPA Asad Moazzam).

In contrast to the PML-N’s winning streak elsewhere in Punjab, independents outdid the ruling party candidates in Chakwal district. Unofficial results gave 33 of the 68 UC chairman seats to the independents, most of them belonging to a group led by former district nazim Sardar Ghulam Abbas, and 28 to the PML-N.

In Bhakkar, the PML-N clinched 47 slots of UC chairman and the PTI two. Seventy-four offices went to independents.

Out of 115 UC seats in Gujrat, the PML-N won 59, followed by independents 22, PML-Q 19 and PTI 15. Most of the independent winners belonged to the PML-Q and N-League as the two parties had declared some of the UCs ‘open’ because of infighting over distribution of tickets.

The PML-N faced an upset in Khohar UC of Sara-i-Alamgir where Ali Asghar Awan, a nephew of MPA Hanif Awan who is also the party’s district president, suffered defeat at the hands of PTI aspirant Farooq Bhatti though by a slim margin of 90 votes. Ali Asghar was a potential candidate for the district council chairmanship.

Differences between the ruling party’s MNA Abid Raza Kotla and MPA Hanif Awan also reportedly helped the PTI in winning five seats of the Sara-i-Alamgir municipal committee.

The PML-N dominated in four municipalities of Gujrat, Jalalpur Jattan, Dinga and Sara-i- Alamgir, while the PPP won in Lalamusa, PTI in Kharian and PML-Q-backed independent group in Kunjah town.

In Pakpattan, 26 of the 50 wards of the municipal committee went to the N-League, 16 to independents and seven to the PTI. The results disturbed many old politicians. Punjab minister Ata Manika’s nominee Rao Rafaqat Ali lost to an independent candidate. PML-Q MPA Pir Ahmed Shah Khagga’s nephew Nasirud Din and PML-N MNA Mansab Ali Dogar’s nephew Abdur Rehman Dogar were defeated by independents.

Vehari district depicted an interesting picture as all the 24 seats (wards) of the municipal committee were won by independent candidates, though they belonged to various local groups of the PML-N.

Because of divisions in party ranks, none had been given party tickets, leaving the field open to all. Five candidates backed by MNA Tehmina Daultana, nine each by MNA Tahir Iqbal and MPA Mian Saqib were successful. One seat went to another group. In 105 union councils of the district council, 48 were bagged by independents, 34 by the PML-N, 20 by the PTI and one each by the PPP and the PML-Q.

Of the 36 wards of Burewala municipal committee, the PML-N won 20, the PTI six, the PML-Q one and independents nine. In 12 wards of Mailsi, six seats were won by the PML-N, two each by the PTI, PPP and independents.

In Okara, the PML-N was on top in the district council and five municipal committees. In 135 UCs of the district council, the PML-N won 66 seats, independents 63, the PPP 22 and the PTI 21. Results of five UCs were awaited.

In 50 wards of Okara municipal committee, the PML-N secured 20 seats, independents 22, the PTI 4 and the PPP and PAT one each. In 18 wards of Deepalpur municipality, the PML-N won 12 seats, independents five and the PTI one. In 18 wards of Havelilakkha-Wasayawala municipality, the hometown of ex-CM and PPP Punjab president Manzoor Wattoo, the PML-N clinched six seats, independents eight and the PPP four.

The PML-N was leading in municipalities of Mandi Ahmadabad, Hujra Shah Muqeem, Basirpur and Renala Khurd.

Of the 125 UCs in Kasur district, the PML-N won 44 seats, independents 42, the PTI 34, the PPP two and the PML-Q one.

Election in one UC of Kot Radha Kishan was cancelled while the result of another UC was pending with the returning officer.

Of the 168 wards of municipal committees, the PML-N got 96 seats, independents 42, the PTI 24 and the PML-Q four.

In Bahawalnagar, of the 135 union councils, independent candidates secured 81 slots of chairmen/vice-chairmen, the PML-N 26, the PML-Z (of MNA Ijazul Haq faction) 15, the PTI nine and the PPP one. Of the 136 wards of the municipal committee, 92 seats went to independents, 26 to the PML-N, 12 to the PML-Z and six to the PTI.

Of the 65 posts of union council chairman in Nankana Sahib, 40 were grabbed by independent candidates, 15 by the PML-N, nine by the PTI and one by the PPP.

KILLINGS: Two activists of the PTI were shot dead in Haft Madar village in UC-48 on Sunday allegedly by PML-N supporters.

After having been elected councillor, Rana Afnan, along with his supporters, was celebrating their victory when rival candidate Rana Naveed with four supports allegedly opened fire on them. Iqbal and Arslan, both PTI activists, were killed and Akram was injured.

In Kasur, Abdul Khokhar, a PTI activist who was elected vice-chairman in the Phoolanagar union council, was shot dead.

Saleem Mubarak from Faisalabad, Waseem Ashraf Butt from Gujrat, Aslam Piracha from Okara, Majeed Gill from Bahawalpur, Afzal Ansari from Kasur, Rana Sarwar from Sheikhupura, Gulzar Beg from Vehari, Shafiq Butt from Sahiwal and Gulzar from Bahawalnagar contributed to the report.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2015

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