ISLAMABAD: The prime minister on Friday congratulated his team after the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party appeared poised for an “overwhelming success” in the second phase of local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Preliminary and unofficial results from 41 of 65 tehsil councils showed the party emerging victorious in at least 20.
On the remaining 21 slots of chairmen and mayors, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) is leading in eight councils, followed by independent candidates in four, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in four, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamaat-i-Islami in two each and Awami National Party (ANP) in one council.
The results on 24 seats are awaited.
“Congratulations to [Chief Minister Mahmood Khan] & our PTI team for their overwhelming success” in the elections, Imran Khan tweeted.
Congratulations to CM @IMMahmoodKhan & our PTI team for their overwhelming success in Phase 2 of KP LG polls. Ppl of KP have emphatically rejected the traitors who sold out to foreign masters. This is an early warning to all traitors of what awaits them in their constituencies.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 1, 2022
The people of “KP have emphatically rejected the traitors who sold out to foreign masters,” he declared, adding the result was an “early warning to all traitors of what awaits them in their constituencies”.
Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said the “landslide victory” of the PTI in the elections proved the nation stood by its leader.
“Now the real decision will not be made through the no-confidence motion. The question is whether Pakistan’s future will be decided by its people or a few sold-out politicians and their foreign masters,” he questioned.
خیبر پختون خواہ کے الیکشن میں تحریک انصاف کی بھاری کامیابی نے ثابت کردیا کے قوم اپنے غیرت مند لیڈر کے ساتھ کھڑی ہو گئی ہے. اب فیصلہ عدم اعتماد تحریک کا نہیں ہونا . اب فیصلہ یہ ہونا ہے کے پاکستان کے عوام اپنے مستقبل کا فیصلہ کریں گے یا چند ضمیر فروش سیاست دان اور ان کے بیرونی آقا
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) April 1, 2022
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), in addition to the mayor and chairman slots in 65 city and tehsil councils, elections were also held for various seats of 1,830 village and neighbourhood councils.
A total of 28,020 candidates were in the run, out of whom 651 contested for the seats of city and tehsil council mayor and chairman.
Besides, 12,980 candidates were vying for the general seats of village and neighbourhood councils, 2,668 for reserved seats for women, 6,451 for peasants, 5,213 for youth and 57 for minority seats.
In the first phase of the polls in December in 17 districts of the province, JUI-F had bagged 23 slots of mayor and chairman of tehsil councils while PTI trailed behind with 18 seats.
Independent candidates remained successful on 10 seats of tehsil council mayors and chairmen, whereas ANP had won seven seats. Three seats were won by PML-N, two seats each by JI and Tehreek-i-Islahat Pakistan and one by PPP.
