KARACHI:
On 19th December, local body elections were held in 17 districts of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). According to the unofficial results of 58 out of 64 mayoral and tehsil chairman seats, JUI-F has emerged victorious on 21 seat followed by PTI which has bagged 14, independent candidates 9 and ANP 7. The PML-N and the PPP, both of whom ruled the country for the longest period, ended up with 3 and 1 respectively.
These results have jolted the PTI which has had power in the province since 2013. It also holds power at the Centre as well as in Balochistan. PTI always bragged about its popularity in the country, especially K-P where it was voted into power twice in a row. However, failure to win any of the mayoral seats and losing in most important tehsils means their popularity has shattered. There is clear infighting and allegations of betraying the party by provincial and federal ministers.
Most interesting are the allegations of rigging by the chairperson of PPP, which only bagged a single seat and was not even among second or third positions anywhere. With JUI-F taking the lion’s share, I wonder who the allegations of rigging are against? Does the PPP chairperson believe that the PTI rigged the elections to hand a win to JUI-F? Also, I am unable to understand the jubilation by the PML-N, which won only three seats. If they wish to win the next general elections, they will have to put up a better show and win more seats in K-P.
Raja Shafaatullah
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2021.
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