PESHAWAR: In an effort to hold the NA-4 Peshawar by-election in a peaceful environment the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has made brisk arrangements around the provincial metropolis.
Recently, the returning officer handed over relevant election materials to the presiding officers concerned, while also providing them with personnel of security forces. The presiding officers, along with assistant presiding officers and polling officers, have also made rounds of the polling stations.
According to ECP, 3,97,952 registered voters, including 2,35,127 men and 1,62,825 women, would exercise their right of adult franchise in favour of their candidates at 269 polling stations. The provincial government has established 148 polling stations for men and 112 for women voters. For the first time in the history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ECP had installed electronic voting systems at 100 polling booths in 39 polling stations.
So far, 14 candidates have been finalised to contest the by-elections, out of whom six belonged to leading political parties of the province. The contestants included, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) candidate Arbab Aamir Ayub, Awami National Party’s (ANP) Khushdil Khan, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Asad Gulzar, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Nasar Khan Musazai, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Wasal Farooq, and Tehreek Allahum Labaik’s independent candidate Liaquat Ali, who has yet to receive clearance from the ECP.
The PML-N candidate seemed to be in a strong position as he enjoyed the backing of Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Qaumi Watan Party of Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, whereas, the PTI candidate was being supported by Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Sami (JUI-S) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek. Other parties, including the ANP, PPP and JI, would be contesting the polls on their own.
The history of this constituency, comprising of almost half of the rural areas surrounding Peshawar city, had been full of surprises. Since 1990s, the ANP had remained on a dominant position in the constituency, but in 2002 the seat went to Muttahida Majlis Amal. In 2013 general elections, the seat was grabbed by PTI.
At this point, it would be premature to favour any particular candidate, since tough competition was expected between candidates of at least four political parties.
For now, both the federal and provincial governments are making their best efforts to see their candidate emerge victorious. They have also launched aggressive campaigns by making tall claims regarding addressing the long-standing miseries of electorates.
