Major blow to PTI as JUI-F grabs Peshawar mayor slot

Maulana Fazl’s party leads on 20 tehsil chairperson slots

PESHAWAR:

The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday was dealt a major blow after Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) cruised to victory with its candidate grabbing the pivotal post of the Peshawar mayor in the local government elections in the first local government elections held in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa since the merger of tribal districts, according to unofficial and unverified results.

The ruling party faced startling setbacks in most areas with the candidates of the opposition parties managing to defeat its nominees. The PTI lost the Peshawar mayor seat to the JUI-F with a wide margin. According to the unofficial results, JUI-F's Zubair Ali won with a margin of around 11,500 votes after securing 62,388, whereas PTI's Rizwan Bangash received 50,669 votes and PPP's Zarak Arbab got 45,000 votes.
Ali is a relative of party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. According to the unofficial results, the JUI-F is leading with 20 seats, followed by the ruling PTI (15), Awami National Party (7), PML-N (3), Jamaat-i-Islami (2) and PPP (1). The results of the LG polls in K-P -- ruling PTI’s stronghold -- have come as a shot in the arm for the emboldened opposition parties as they seize on the electoral setback to berate the government.

In a statement after the counting showed party leading, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman remarked that the results of the LG elections had once again “proven” that his party was the single largest party of the province. Addressing a news conference along with former Balochistan chief minister Aslam Raisani in Quetta on Monday, Fazl doubled down on his claims that the ruling party’s government was bereft of any legitimacy and had been formed through “selection”.

Regarding the multi-party alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the JUI-F said meetings are being held by leaders and officials of constituent political parties in all provinces to prepare for a march against the government. The elections were held in 17 districts, comprising 64 tehsils, on a party basis as per the ruling of the courts. Out of 64 tehsils, the JUI-F headed by Maulana Fazlur Rehman was leading on 20 tehsil chairperson slots, whereas the PTI was trailing behind with 15 seats.

The unofficial results also show that the Awami National Party (ANP) managed to win nine slots. Meanwhile, independent candidates bagged 10 tehsil chairperson seats. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won three seats, Jamaat-e-Islami two, while the Pakistan Peoples Party, Tehreek-e-Islahat Pakistan and Mazdoor Kissan Party managed to grab one seat each.

Out of seven tehsils in Peshawar, the PTI could only win one seat, while the JUI-F and ANP grabbed three and two seats, respectively. In Mardan, the PTI was wiped out while the JUI-F secured victory in three tehsils and the ANP came in first in two tehsils, according to the unofficial results.

However, in Bannu, the PTI candidate was in the lead on the mayoral seat. It has also secured the tehsil chairperson slots in Buner, Kagara, Daggar, Gambat and Rustam. In Charsadda, JUI-F’s Hamza Asif secured over 33,000 votes to win the tehsil chairperson slot in Shabqadar. In Tank, the JUI-F secured a win in both tehsils. In Lakki Marwat’s tehsil Nowrang, JI candidate Haji Aziz got over 17,000 votes to secure the seat for his party.

Read PTI leaders go underground after poor show in Cantt polls

‘Tabdeeli rolling back’

Taking a jibe at the PTI, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz said that the change that the party had promised is “already dying down in a humiliating way”. "Change is not coming — it is going," she wrote on Twitter, referring to PTI's rallying cry "tabdeeli aa nahi rahi, tabdeeli aa gai hay" (change is not coming, it has already arrived).

“The government has pushed 220 million people of the country into problems such as inflation, lawlessness, and incompetence as a result of which the masses have been cursing the government,” she added.

Polls marred by violence

The voting process in three tehsils in Swabi, Bannu and Darra Adam Khel was postponed on Sunday due to disturbances, including a suicide attack in Bajaur, kidnapping of polling staff in Bannu, a clash in Karak and a mob attack on Faraz’s vehicle in Kohat.

A mob also attacked Federal Minster Shibli Faraz’s vehicle, leaving his driver injured. In all, 12.668 million voters — seven million male and 5.5 million female — were registered for the local government election in the 17 K-P districts namely Buner, Bajaur, Swabi, Peshawar, Nowshera, Kohat, Karak, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Tank, Haripur, Khyber, Mohmand, Mardan, Charsadda, Hangu and Lakki Marwat.