PESHAWAR: Though the ticket allotment has reportedly annoyed some aspirants, the Awami National Party (ANP) seems determined to go ahead with the process as on Tuesday its parliamentary board finalised some more candidates for the next general election. The ANP Parliamentary Board awarded ticket to Imran Afridi for the National Assembly constituency NA-46 in Khyber Agency. The ticket for NA-43 Bajaur Agency was awarded to Sheikh Jehan Khan. The party candidate for NA-16 Hangu would be former lawmaker Pir Haider Ali Shah. Hussain Ali Shah Hussaini would contest election for PK-42 in Hangu and Sher Shah Khan was finalised for PK-81 Swat. Fazal Wahab would be the party candidate for PK-86 Swat. The ANP is apparently the first party to have started awarding tickets to candidates for the next general election ahead of the announcement of the election schedule. The party’s parliamentary board which award tickets to the candidates is headed by Ameer Haider Hoti and comprises Sardar Hussain Babak, Aimal Wali Khan and Khurshid Khattak. Talking to The News, ANP Vice-President Senator Baz Muhammad Khan said the party’s Central Working Committee had decided to award tickets to the candidates well before the announcement of the election schedule. Responding to a question about the criteria for the award of tickets, he said that tickets were awarded to candidates after the input from party workers in the candidates’ respective constituency. He said the candidate’s position and public perception and his relationship with the party organisation in his or her constituency were also taken into account before the award of ticket. Asserting that the party leadership had no preferred candidates, he added that ANP had a vigorous vetting process for nominating candidates for elections. “The candidates are actually awarded tickets after a thorough consultation process,” Baz Muhammad said. The ANP leader said that having a team for the election would give ample time to candidates and party for canvassing. He said that awarding tickets in advance also facilitated the leadership to address the reservations of the disgruntled workers. He added that party leaders would not have to worry about wooing the disgruntled workers during the election. “It will help the candidates, workers and leadership to focus on election,” he added.
