BUNER, Dec 23 The electoral alliance of the Jamaat-i-Islami, PML-Q and PPP-S claims to have enough votes to win the by-election on NA-28 seat, scheduled for Dec 28.

Addressing a public gathering in connection with electioneering here, the other day, the alliance candidate and former provincial assembly speaker advocate Bakht Jehan Khan claimed the alliance had wide support in parts of the district.

He said in the past too the PPP-S and the JI had contested elections from the joint platform. He recalled that the JI had won the PF-78 and 79 seats while the PPP-S was able to win elections on PF-77 and NA-28.

Mr Khan claimed that the previous MMA government carried out lots of developmental schemes in the region. He said, buildings of the district headquarters hospital, degree colleges for girls and boys, and technical college for boys were built by the MMA, besides upgradation of various health facilities.

The former NWFP speaker castigated the ANP for failing on all fronts, saying the development work had been halted in the province. He said people were made refugees on their own land.

The JI candidate hoped that the people of Buner would use their vote in favour of the religious parties as they had been 'fed up' with the ANP's policies.

JI leader Mirajuddin Khan, in his brief address, explained that the ANP was responsible for all the evils in the region, accusing it of toeing American agenda in the so-called war on terror. He alleged that the ANP was playing a game by crushing Pakhtuns just to appease its foreign masters.

Sher Akbar Khan of the PPP-S and Sarzamin Khan of the PML-Q also spoke on the occasion hitting hard on the ANP leadership for backing military operation in Swat and other parts of the province.

They alleged that the ANP had never been sincere with the Pakhtuns' cause rather it always loved dollars.

They called upon activists of their respective parties to accelerate electioneering and convince the people of the area to cast vote in favour of the alliance's candidate if they wanted to get rid of the ANP-led government.

Our Peshawar Bureau adds The Election Commission of Pakistan has finalised arrangements for the by-elections in the National Assembly constituency of NA-28, Buner, where nine candidates are in the run.

According to a press release of the commission, the relevant election material has been dispatched to the returning officer in Buner. Polling would take place on Dec 28 from 8.00 am till 5.00 pm.

The total number of registered voters who will exercise their right of franchise is 290467 which include 165167 male and 125,300 female voters.

The commission has set up 267 polling stations including 51 stations for men, 48 for women and 168 joint stations where separate polling booths would be established for male and female voters.