BAP, BNP-M, MMA clinch majority seats in Balochistan

PkMAP chief suffers massive upset at hands of PTI candidate in NA-265 Quetta; PML-N’s Zehri manages to bag one BA...

QUETTA: With 70% counting of votes complete in the province, the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) appear all set to form the next coalition government as they have clinched a majority of the national and provincial assemblies’ seats.

As per unofficial results for the National Assembly seats, the MMA is in the lead as its five candidates have won from NA-257, -262, -263, -264 and -267. The MMA has also bagged 10 Balochistan Assembly (BA) seats.

BAP confident will win elections

Coming in second is the BNP-M, which succeeded in securing four National Assembly seats from NA-266, -268, -269 and -270 constituencies, while its candidates managed to win nine provincial assembly seats.

The newly formed BAP managed to win only one seat of the National Assembly after its candidate Sardar Muhammad Israr Tareen safely secured NA-258 Loralai-cum-Musakhel seat with a heavy margin. However, the party is leading on the provincial assembly front with 13 seats.

Five independent candidates also managed to secure one seat each of the BA, while former chief minister Sanaullah Zehri of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz secured only one.



Apart from being poised to form the next government at the Centre, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) managed to defeat Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) in its stronghold – NA-265 Quetta. Officially, PTI candidate Qasim Suri defeated PkMAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai from the constituency.

PTI, Awami National Party, BNP-Awami, and Hazara Democratic Party succeeded in winning two seats each of the BA.

Of the total 51 BA seats, elections on one seat – PB-35 Mastung – were postponed due to the martyrdom of 153 innocent people, including BAP candidate Siraj Raisani, in a suicide attack on a corner meeting in the area on July 13.



Political analysts predict that BAP, BNP-M and MMA would form the next provincial government with the chief minister from BAP or BNP-M.

They said former leading nationalist political parties, the National Party (NP) and the PkMAP have been completely wiped out from the province.

PkMAP and NP have joined the chorus of condemnation, alleging that their mandate had been stolen.



“As we had seen in 2013 general election that backdoor of the parliament was left open for two political parties [NP and PkMAP], the same suspicious activities were witnessed in 2018 election,” said MMA candidates Hafiz Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Ghafoor Haideri, who failed in securing any seat, while addressing a joint press conference at the Quetta Press Club on Thursday. “We are unable to understand as to why there is a curfew-like situation in the surroundings of the district and sessions courts as it has been more than 24 hours that the polling process is completed.”

Ahmed, candidate for NA-266, alleged that people were being elected in Balochistan as a result of a deal with hidden powers.



Haideri, former Senate deputy chairman and candidate for PB-32, alleged that their workers were deliberately kept in the dark regarding the election results which raises questions over the election’s impartiality.

“We were told by the presiding officers that they don’t have Form 45 issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan which is a questionable issue,” said Haideri. “We can’t understand as to why the so-called non-political powers showed immense support for selected electable.”

The MMA, Balochistan chapter has demanded formation of an independent commission to probe the alleged rigging in elections.