LG by-elections in KP

PTI downplays impact of results, opposition parties upbeat after winning seats

By our correspondent

PESHAWAR: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) downplayed the impact of the local government by-elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while the Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamaat-i-Islami were upbeat after winning seats in their traditional strongholds.

The loss of some seats in the local government polls in Nowshera, the native district of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, was seen by opposition parties as a setback for the PTI. However, the chief minister refuted this impression. He was quoted as saying that the PTI didn’t field or back candidates as the local council elections were always fought on the basis of biradaris (clans) and families. He said the PTI didn’t want to take sides in these local level polls as doing so would have alienated one or the other side from his party and damaged it in coming general elections in 2018.

The outcome of the local government by-elections for nazims and councillors brought some respite for the ANP, which lost the 2013 general election badly after remaining in power for five years from 2008-2013. Though it has been slowly on the comeback trail as seen from results in the recent NA-4 Peshawar by-election, the ANP’s rehabilitation has yet to make it strong enough to challenge the PTI in every constituency and district. ANP candidates won some local council seats in Nowshera, Swabi and elsewhere, but it isn’t enough to conclude that the party is now capable and popular enough to put up a strong challenge to return to power in 2018.

The Jamaat-i-Islami’s victory in the local government by-elections mostly came in the Malakand division where its candidates won seats in Upper Dir, Swat and Buner. The party’s almost clean sweep in its stronghold of Upper Dir showed that the Jamaat-i-Islami has retained its vote-bank there and pushed back the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The decline of the PPP is helping the Jamaat-i-Islami to become stronger in places like Upper Dir and Lower Dir where the two parties always have been the major political forces and rivals.

The JUI-F and PML-N also won a few seats in the local government elections.

However, the results of these polls cannot be a true barometer of the mood of the voters. Political preferences play a role in the polling, but these are often outdone by the demands of one’s clan, family and neighbourhood. The real thing in terms of the voters’ trend is the assembly by-elections. The PTI has done well in the by-polls for the National Assembly and provincial legislature in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This would encourage it to do better in the next year’s general election. In fact, some PTI leaders are already confidently claiming that their party would change the trend in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where ruling parties invariably lose election after remaining in power for one term.