In the recently held local government elections in the 21 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, provisional results indicate that independent candidates have made a strong showing. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secured 14 out of the contested seats, according to unofficial and non-governmental results. The Election Commission reported that in the by-elections for village and neighborhood councils, the results of all 72 seats for Wali Bagh and Nibrahood have been received. Among these results, independent candidates emerged as the dominant force, securing victory on 40 seats. PTI managed to secure 14 seats, making it a successful contender in the municipal by-elections.
Furthermore, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) each won 6 and 5 seats respectively. The Awami National Party (ANP) secured 4 seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won 2 seats in the parliamentary realm. As per the Election Commission’s reports, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) won a single seat in the local government elections.
In the preliminary and unofficial results, out of the 6 seats in Peshawar, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf secured victory on 3 seats. Tehreek-e-Insaf achieved success on the seats of Ghari Banatwan, Ghari Fazal Khaliq, and Nodhia Bala. In the Village Council Rigi Yusufzai seat, JUI’s candidate emerged victorious, while in the Village Council Maroof Zai seat, the candidate from Awami National Party won. In the Village Council Char seat, an independent candidate achieved victory.
According to the non-governmental and provisional results of three Village Councils in Swat, in the Village Council Brikot, PTI’s candidate Ajmal Ali was successful with 578 votes. In the Village Council Doglagai Maira, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s Abdul Rahman secured victory with 649 votes, and in the Village Council Qalagai, independent candidate Shahid Iqbal won with 625 votes.
In Kohat, independent candidate Muhammad Naseer secured victory in the Village Council seat with 1169 votes. In Village Council 13 Rahman Abad, independent candidate Tanveer Anjum won with 571 votes. In Bajaur, in the single seat for Youth Councilor, independent candidate Islamuddin achieved success with 550 votes.
In Nowshera’s Ward Number 2, PTI’s candidate Abdul Aziz secured victory with 617 votes, while Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s supported candidate Muzaffar remained second with 380 votes. In Nowshera Tehsil Jhangira Abad Ward 9, PML-N’s supported candidate Alimgir stayed on top with 575 votes.
In these local government elections, the dominance of independent candidates and PTI’s significant seat gains highlight the diverse political landscape and the competitive nature of local politics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
