Most voters boycott LG by-poll in Lower Dir

TIMERGARA: Majority of voters in Lower Dir on Tuesday boycotted re-polling on local government vacant seats in different parts of the district as a mark of protest against the Election Commission of Pakistan's decision to hold by-election for the third time due to low turnout of woman voters.

The ECP conducted the LG by-election for the third time on 16 vacant seats. These included two tehsil council wards, eight general councillors, four youth councilors and one each women and peasant worker seats in Lower Dir.

The commission had declared the Feb, 20 re-polling on these seats null and void due to either low or no turnout of woman voters. Voters both men and women showed up in large number only in Talash area where re-polling was held on three polling stations for Shahikhel tehsil council ward.

The PPP candidate Manzoor Ahmad retained his seat by defeating the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)'s Gul Hakim Khan by 58 votes. In Samar Bagh, the voters boycotted the re-polling on one tehsil council seat, two general councilors and one youth seats. Only 147 voters cast votes in 14 polling stations in Samar Bagh and Munda tehsils.

The JI Azizur Rehman got 81, PTI's Sarbiland Khan bagged 49 and the ANP candidate got only 17 votes for the tehsil council ward. In Adenzai, too, the voters completely boycotted re-polling on two youth and one general councilor seats. The voters in Maidan also did not take part in election on one seat each on youth, general and women reserved seats.