- PkMAP’s Dr Kaleemullah Khan elected Quetta mayor, Younas Baloch as deputy mayor
- PML-N, NP, PkMAP, JUI-F reflect stronger position elsewhere in the province
- Elections postponed in Killa Abdullah, Mastung, Killa Saifullah and others due to incomplete quorum
With the ruling coalition partners winning a majority of seats in Quetta and other parts of the province, the final phase of local bodies elections in Balochistan peacefully concluded Wednesday.
“The councillors’ turnout was high in the final phase and the government succeeded in maintaining peace. These elections will help in improving the law and order situation,” Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti commented over the polls.
Dr Kaleemullah Khan from the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), a coalition partner in Balochistan government, won the seat of Quetta city mayor while Mohammad Younas Baloch has been elected as the deputy mayor.
In the polls, Dr Khan secured 54 votes while his opponent Mohammad Qasim Achakzai of All Parties Democratic Alliance (APDA) got 14 votes. For deputy mayor’s office, Baloch got 56 votes and his opponent from APDA, Raza Wakeel, secured 56 votes.
Dr Khan and Baloch were jointly supported by PkMAP, National Party (NP), Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) while Achakai and Wakeel were supported by APDA, an alliance of seven political and religious parties.
Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Malik Naeem Bazai was elected as the district chairman of Quetta and Asmatullah of PkMAP as deputy district chairman.
PML-N, JUI-F, NP EMERGE VICTORIOUS:
Elsewhere in the province, PML-N, NP, PkMAP and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam –Fazl (JUI-F) reflected a stronger position.
In resource-rich Dera Bugti district, PML-N emerged victorious for the first time with Ghullam Nabi Shambani elected as chairman and Shah Murad Masoori Bugti as deputy chairman.
PPP secured the seat of district chairman Barkhan with Amir Mohammad Khetran as its candidate while PkMAP’s Sultan Sherani managed to win the elections for chairman of Sherani district.
The Balochistan National Party – Mengal also secured some seats in Baloch-dominated areas.
According to unofficial results, NP candidate Fid Dashti was elected as district chairman of Kech and Mir Aurangzaib Jamaldini as district chairman Noshki.
The elections were postponed in Killa Abdullah, Mastung, Killa Saifullah and some other districts due to lack of quorum.