PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and supporters are busy celebrating their victory in the NA-4 by-election, but other political parties have mostly rejected the result and have said they would challenge it in the court of law.
The celebrations are centred in the village of the winning PTI candidate, Arbab Amir Ayub, a newcomer in the party and belonging to a politically influential family. He is receiving throngs of people visiting his hujra to felicitate him on his big win against a formidable field of candidates.
PTI had nominated the former nazim Peshawar Town-IV Arbab Amir Ayub ignoring old party workers because he was the most electable.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had fielded Nasir Musazai and Awami National Party (ANP) had put up Khushdil Khan, a former deputy speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had allotted ticket to Asad Gulzar, son of PTI’s dissident Member National Assembly Gulzar Khan, whose death necessitated the by-election. The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) gave ticket to Wasil Farooq.
Arbab Amir obtained 45,734 votes while Khushdil Khan got 24,874 and Nasir Musazai polled 24,790.
Asad Gulzar received 13,200 and Wasil Farooq got 7,668 votes.
The candidate of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, Mohammad Shafiq Ameeni, obtained 9,935 votes.
The Milli Muslim League-backed independent candidate Liaqat Ali Khan could get 3789 votes. The supporters of both the newly formed parties – Milli Muslim League and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan seemed satisfied with the results, saying they had conveyed their message and would contest the next general election in 2018 with renewed energy and confidence.
The ANP and PML-N candidates received more votes than their share of the vote in the 2013 general election. However, the PTI failed to achieve its previous votes as Gulzar Khan had obtained more than 55,000 votes. The PPP could get 13,200 only.
The JI is said to be the main loser, but its leaders said they were not disappointed and would not leave the field open in the next general election.
Meanwhile, the PML-N, ANP and PPP rejected the results and accused the provincial government of rigging. The PTI leaders said the people have reposed confidence in them by rejecting the joint candidate of PML-N, Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl and Qaumi Watan Party.
On the other hand, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami and Pakistan Awami Tehreek, which have neither contested election in NA-4 in the past nor have many votes in the constituency, supported the PTI candidate.
Political observers said the result of the NA-4 by-election has generated a debate among the people and within the political parties.
Comparing the previous results, Shamroz Khan, wearing PML-N cap, posed a question as to whether the JUI-F really supported their nominee.
Raees Khan, 50, hailing from Telaband Union Council said nobody was allowed to enter the polling station without having national identity card.
According to him, they were expecting the same results as the opposition was divided.
He said the federal and provincial governments used official resources for the success of their nominees but the people were politically mature now.
Raees Khan said the people knew that JI was a coalition partner of the PTI, but pretended to be in the opposition camp. He said the common man couldn’t be deceived any more.
A PPP supporter said his party had no polling agents in the far-flung polling stations and the top party leadership had been informed about the ground realities.
Rehmanullah, a villager in the constituency, urged leaders of the political parties to review their policies and accept the collective decision of the people in the by-polls.
He said the people were fed up with traditional politics and the political parties should work for the welfare of the people instead of promoting their vested interests.
