Peshawar’s PK-8 by-election’s results suffered a controversy Thursday as Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate Malik Tehmash Khan was at first declared successful. However a vote recount demanded by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s (PML-N) candidate Arbab Waseem nulled the results and the recount declared Waseem as victorious. Waseem managed to attain 11,781 votes.
Polling for PK-8 seat started Thursday after it was vacated following PML-N Arbab Akbar Hayat’s demise.
Polling for the by-election began at 8 am and conclude by 5pm. More than 5000 police and army personnel were guarding total 98 polling stations formed in the constituency.
Security concerns loomed over the by-election as 40 polling centres were declared extremely sensitive, 47, sensitive and 11 were declared normal. PTI’s Shahzad Khan, JUI’s Asif Iqbal, PPP’s Malik Tehmash and Awami National Party’s (ANP) Ejaz Samyab were among the 15 candidates contesting the election.
A number of registered voters in PK-8 were over 1.36 lac however turnout remained low in the early hours.
