Six ANP candidates in the running in Oct 14 by-polls

PESHAWAR: Six Awami National Party (ANP) candidates are in the run in the by-elections being held on Sunday on nine provincial assembly constituencies and one National Assembly seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is holding the by-elections on October 14.

The by-election is taking place for the PK-3 and PK-7 constituencies in Swat, PK-44 in Swabi, PK-53 in Mardan, PK-61 and PK-64 in Nowshera, PK-78 Peshawar and PK-97 and PK-99 in Dera Ismail Khan.

The election on PK-71 will be held on October 21. It fell vacant after the PTI lawmaker Shah Farman became Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In the July 25 general elections, PTI) candidate Haider Ali Khan won PK-3 with 18,569 votes and NA-2 with 61, 834 votes. PTI’s Amjad Ali was declared the winner on PK-6 and PK-7 Swat by securing 24, 239 and 19461 votes, respectively.

The main contest in PK-7 is expected between ANP’s Waqar Ahmad Khan and PTI’s Fazle Maula. They had contested for the same constituency against each other in the general election with Dr Amjad Ali winning the seat. Two independents are also running for PK-7.

PTI’s Asad Qaiser had won the PK-44 Swabi along with NA-18. On PK-44 he got 31,912 votes while on NA-18 Asad Qaiser secured 79, 428 votes. ANP candidate Ghulam Hassan will face PTI candidate Aqibullah Khan and an independent candidate.

ANP provincial president Ameer Haider Hoti won PK-53 with 29, 208 votes and NA-21 with 79, 151 votes. He opted for the NA seat and vacated the PK-53. A total of six candidates, including ANP’s Ahmad Khan Bahadur and PTI’s Muhammad Abdul Salam are vying for PK-53.

Former chief minister Pervez Khattak won the PK-64 with 38, 276 votes and PK-61 seat with 20, 676 votes. He was also successful on NA-25 after getting 82,208 votes.

Muhammad Ibrahim Khattak of PTI and Noor Alam Khan of ANP are contesting on the PK-61 while PTI’s Liaquat Khan and ANP’s Muhammad Shahid are in the run for the PK-64.

Federal minister Ali Amin Gandapur won two seats. He was successful on PK-97 with 31,197 votes and NA-38 seat by getting 81, 032 votes. His brother Faisal Amin is contesting the by-election fir the seat that became vacant

The election on PK-78 and PK-99 was postponed after the ANP candidate Haroon Bilour was martyred in a suicide blast in Peshawar on July 10. PTI candidate Ikramullah Gandapur was martyred when his car was targetted with a bomb in Dera Ismail Khan.

Haroon Bilour’s widow Samar Haroon Bilour is the ANP candidate for PK-78 while PTI has fielded Mohammad Irfan. .

The by-election on the lone NA seat will be held in Bannu. The NA-35 Bannu fell vacant when PTI chairman Imran Khan vacated it. Imran Khan had secured 113,843 votes and defeated former chief minister Akram Khan Durrani, who was fielded by the MMA.