PESHAWAR: The candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Inamullah, won the by-elections for the slot of chairman of Mathra tehsil council in Peshawar while an independent candidate was ahead of his rivals in Havelian tehsil council in Abbottabad.

According to official results, in Mathra tehsil, PTI candidate Inamullah won the by-polls by getting 20,333 votes, followed by JUI-F candidate Rafiullah, who got 13,564. Jamaat-i-Islami candidate Iftikhar Ahmad polled 9,546 votes, PPP-P candidate Ali Abas Khan 5,377, PML-N candidate Fazlullah 3,351 and ANP candidate Aziz Ghaffar Khan got 2,721 votes.

In the by-elections for the Havelian tehsil council chairman, an independent candidate Uzer Khan was leading, followed by PTI candidate Iftikhar Khan Jadoon till filing of this report.

The seat fell vacant with the death of Faridullah Khan of JUI-F. True to the expectations, the main contest was held between Uzer Khan, the first cousin of former mayor late Atif Munsif Khan, and PTI candidate Iftikhar Khan Jadoon.

Turnout remains low as by-elections conclude peacefully in Peshawar, Abbottabad

In Mathra, low turnout was observed in the by-polls. The low turnout was attributed to hot weather, security threats and less interest of voters in the local bodies system.

“We have seen voters standing in queues during polling time,” one of the polling staff at a station established in Government Higher Secondary School Garhi, told Dawn. He said that voters came and cast their vote instantly without waiting as less number of people came out of their homes to take part in the process.

The polling process concluded smoothly and peacefully amid tight security arrangements. Though there was no rush of voters inside the polling stations, sufficient number of workers of different political parties was seen at their parties’ camps established near the polling stations.

The major political parties including PTI, JUI-F, ANP and JI had established camps, which were decorated with the party flags, banners and posters of their leaders.

As compared to other political parties, the camps established by PTI and JI were overcrowded and the workers of both the parties were more enthusiastic.

More than 3,000 personnel of police and Frontier Constabulary were deployed at the polling stations. The vehicles of Frontier Corpse were also patrolling the area.

A total of 155 polling stations were established for polling in Mathra tehsil out of which 75 were for male, 66 for female and 14 were combined.

Similarly, 496 polling booths were established where 218,630 voters used their right of franchise in Mathra tehsil including 88,364 male and 77,436 female.

In Havelian, 134 polling stations were established out of which 88 were combined and each 23 for male and female. A total of 165800 voters used their right of franchise in Havelian tehsil for which 392 polling booths were established.

According to the ECP statement, 84 polling stations were declared most sensitive, 57 sensitive and 14 polling stations as normal in Mathra tehsil while 40 polling stations were declared most sensitive in Havelian tehsil, 25 sensitive and 69 were declared as normal.

In Havelian, the turnout was very low and except few polling stations, no queue of voters was seen. The by-elections were held on holiday. However, people seemed to have lost their interest in the local bodies system. The candidates could not mobilise voters as residents of the area said that they did not see any significant role of the members of the local councils.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2023