PTI trounces PDM in Kurram by-poll

PTI chairman and premier Imran Khan on Sunday won the National Assembly constituency NA-45 Kurram, with a significant margin against his rival, JUI-F’s Jamil Khan, who was backed by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

The PTI chief bagged 20,748 votes as per the unofficial results while Jamil managed to secure 12,718. This is a triumphant victory with a difference of 8,300 votes.

Imran has already won six seats in the by-elections.

The PTI chief had filed papers for the NA-45 Kurram seat after it fell vacant following the resignation of his party member, Malak Fakhar Zaman Khan Bangash.

There were 14 candidates in the by-election including Sher Muhammad Khan of Jamaat Islami, and independent candidates Saif Ullah Khan, Jahanzeb and Sarfaraz Khan.

The JI candidate could only muster 258 votes, as per unofficial results.

Voting in the constituency began at 8am and ended at 5pm.

The whole process was largely peaceful and held amid tight security.

As the counting began, the PTI chief took an early lead, which eventually continued to grow.

Imran won the seat without even running his campaign in the constituency.

He was scheduled to stage a rally in Kurram two days ago but he was unable to do so because of his party’s long march.

Separately, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) served another notice to the ex-premier for violating the code of conduct, summoning him on Saturday and warning of action if he failed to appear before the commission.

In response. Imran’s lawyer appeared before the district monitoring officer of Kurram and told him that the PTI chief had already been summoned by the ECP in Islamabad on November 1.

The Kurram DPO maintained his decision.

Earlier in the day, the ECP tweeted that it had established a control room to monitor the polls and the results. It added that “violence and interference” would not be tolerated. It warned that swift action would be taken against those violating the law.

It also tweeted that many women came out to vote for their candidates.

The polling for NA-45 Kurram was scheduled to be held on October 16. However, the ECP postponed it because of the law and order situation there and later fixed it for October 30.