SWAT: The ruling party PTI’ candidate Fazal Maula won the by-poll to PK-7 by defeating ANP candidate Hussain Ahmed alias Khan Nawab here on Sunday.
According to unconfirmed and unofficial results, the PTI candidate Fazal Maula grabbed 18,042 votes and won the seat while ANP candidate Hussain Ahmed remained runner-up with 14,665 votes.
The polling for the vacant seat, fell vacant after the death of ANP’s MPA Waqar Ahmad Khan, started at 8am in the morning and continued till 5pm without any break.
The ANP candidate also had the support of the PDM, but there was no interest in polling from the workers of these parties and PTI candidate Fazal Maula easily won the seat from the ANP.
In the 2008 general elections, ANP’s Waqar Ahmed Khan had won this seat. In the 2013 elections, Dr Amjad Ali of PTI had won and Waqar Ahmed Khan had lost it. In the 2018 elections, PTI’s Dr Amjad Ali again defeated Waqar Ahmad Khan but later vacated the seat as he had won two seats.
However, during by-poll to PK-7, Waqar Ahmad Khan of ANP won the seat with the support of the opposition parties. When Waqar Ahmed Khan died of a cardiac arrest last month, the ANP fielded his uncle Hussain Ahmed Khan alias Khan Nawab in the by-poll with the support of the PDM, but the provincial ruling party PTI Candidate Fazal Maula won the seat.
There were two main factors for victory of PTI candidate Fazal Maula in PK-7 in by-election: firstly KPK CM Mahmood Khan had announced a full package in form of development projects such as engineering university in PK-7, a PAEDS hospital and many others schemes in Kabal Tehsil.
Secondly, the lack of interest of PDM local leadership and workers in the favour of ANP candidate Hussain Ahmad Khan also added to his defeat.
After the defeat, the ANP workers staged a sit-in in Kabal Chowk and protested outside the Returning Officer’s office.
