Some wins amongst losses for PML-N in Abbottabad

PTI leader Mushtaq Ghani retains his provincial assembly seat

ABBOTTABAD: Even as the PML-N managed to keep its presence in Mansehra, it struggled in nearby Abbottabad.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) retained NA-16 Abbottabad-II with Ali Jadoon triumphing with a whopping 85,203 votes.

Unofficial results released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) showed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), who had fielded Mohabbat Khan over former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) governor Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, could only muster 54,879 votes in the constituency — once considered a stronghold for the party.

The PTI also secured three of the four provincial assembly seats in the district.

In the PK-36, unofficial results showed that Nazeer Abbasi of PTI had secured 27,104 votes. His nearest competitor was independent candidate Sardar Fareed who got 24,996 votes.

Unofficial results of PK-37 showed that PML-N provincial assembly lawmaker Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha had retained his seat, securing 38,725 votes. His opponent, Waqar Nabi of the PTI, could only manage 28,805 votes.

In PK-38, Qalandar Khan Lodhi of the PTI won the seat with 29,474 votes. He beat off competition from Muhammad Arshad of the PML-N who could only manage 26,437 votes.

Former provincial higher education minister Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani of the PTI retained his seat in PK-39 Abbottabad–IV with 28,424 votes.

Inayatullah Jadoon of the PML-N could not dislodge Ghani after he could only muster 19,245 votes.

Earlier, confusion and controversy were created on the results in the district due to the alleged improper handling of and compilation of results, collections of voting bags from more than 750 polling stations.

Women presiding officers complained that they had to stand with the male staff in cramped rooms in the heavy rain.

Moreover, they said that they had been on the duty for the past three days and had to travel to polling stations which were located in remote, mountainous areas which had no proper arrangements of food or basic necessitates. As a result, they had to spend three sleepless nights in the polling stations.

Moreover, they complained that no shelters or other arrangements were made for polling staff at the receiving points late at night and that some of female presiding and polling staff had even fainted owing to the absence of food and water.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2018.