BUNER, Dec 27: A total of 290,467 voters are going to exercise their right of franchise as polling for the by-election in the National Assembly constituency of NA-28 Buner will be held on Sunday.

Nine candidates are in the run for the seat, including Istiqbal Khan of Awami National Party (ANP), Bakht Jehan Khan of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Maulana Fazli Ghafoor of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-Fazl), Fanoos Gujar of Pakistan Awami Party (PAP), Ali Sher Khan of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Maulana Mohammad Hameed of JUP and independent candidates; Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Nowshad Khan and Syed Amir Zeb Bacha.

The Election Commission of Pakistan, the district administration, District Returning Officer Mohammad Anwer Khan and Returning Officer Sajjad Anwer Khan, have finalised all the arrangements for the election.

The election commission has already dispatched the election material to the returning officer who onward provided it to the presiding officers of the polling stations.

The district administration including the District Coordination Officer, Mohammad Akbar Khan, and the District Police Officer, Syed Zubair Shah, supervised the overall activities and ensured safety of the ballot boxes, ballot papers and staffers to its destination.

The police have taken special security measures for the by-poll as Buner district is adjacent to the restive Swat valley where the security forces have been facing an uphill task to contain the activities of the militants. The district police have declared five of the 267 polling stations as more sensitive and 69 stations as sensitive. Polling would continue from 8am till 5pm.

The seat fell vacant with the death of ANP leader Abdul Mateen Khan. During the February general elections Abdul Mateen Khan had bagged 22,601 votes against 18,456 votes secured by Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, who was at that time a candidate of PPP.

He is now contesting as independent candidate as the PPP has put its weight behind the ANP’s candidate Istiqbal Khan, who is son of Late Mateen Khan.

The PAP’s Fanoos Gujar bagged 13,386 votes in the February 18 election and is again in the run for the slot. The JI’s candidate, Bakht Jehan Khan, also enjoys the support of PPP-Sherpao and the PML-Q. Being former speaker of the NWFP Assembly, Bakht Jehan, is also a strong contender for the seat.

The provincial leadership of all of the contesting parties have set up camps in the district and all of them are making efforts for the success of their respective candidates. The major contestants have been trading allegations against each other for efforts to rig the election.