PESHAWAR, Pakistan: As today is the last day of election campaign for NA-4 by-election, the candidates of mainstream political parties and independents were making last efforts to muster the support of voters besides strong baradaries (tribes) before going for polling on October 26 on Thursday.
A total of 15 candidates are running for this important slot of the member National Assembly including six from mainstream political parties and nine independents who geared up their door to door campaign besides addressing corner meetings to persuade voters in their favour as the election campaign will come to an end in mid night (12am) today.
The seat had fallen vacant due to death of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Gulzar Khan on August 28, 2017 due to protected illness.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has awarded ticket to its Provincial Information Secretary Nasir Khan Musazai who stood runner up in last general elections and was being supported by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) and the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP).
PTI has fielded former Town-4 Nazim Arbab Amir Ayub; Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) awarded ticket to Asad Gulzar, son of late MNA Gulzar Khan, former Deputy Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Khushdil Khan was trying luck on Awami National Party (ANP) ticket and Wisal Farooq Khan was fielded by the Jumaat-e-Islami (JI).
The family members and supporters of these political heavyweights were also busy in door to door campaigns besides addressing corner meetings and installed posters and banners to get voters’ supports in favour of their candidates.
The roads, squares and intersections are decorated d with posters, panaflex banners and campaign materials by candidates with different catchy slogans to attract young voters.
Great enthusiasm was being witnessed among young voters as majority of them would exercise their right of franchise for first time during the election.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has already directed all the candidates to end their election campaign before mid-night (12am) of October 24 (today).
The ECP has warned that action would be taken against candidates found involved in holding public rallies or addressing public meetings after 12am (mid night) of October 24 under relevant laws and the violators can be jailed for six months or Rs 1,000 fine or both the sentences could be awarded.
For the first time in the country, THE ECP would use electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the by-election on NA-4 for which all arrangements have been completed.
The ECP has decided to setup 269 polling stations for the election and EVMs would be used in over 100 polling booths of 35 polling stations in both urban and rural areas of the constituency.
Approximately, 47,255 voters are expected to cast their votes through EVMs along with the manual voting process. The total registered voters in the constituency are about 397,904 including 235,164 male and 162,740 female.
The political observers said by-election was being seen as a litmus test for the ruling PTI’s popularity in the province, especially with regards to 2018 general election.
They said NA-4 results would determine popularity graph of the ruling party (PTI) in Peshawar besides others political parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
They said three parties alliance of PML-N, QWP and JUI-F besides ANP and PPP were posing serious challenge to PTI, forcing Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervaiz Khattak to quickly inaugurate the long awaited Rapid Bus project in Peshawar.
The observers believed the political situation on ground was totally different today than that of 2013 when PTI tsunami had swept Peshawar district by securing four NA and 10 PA seats out of 11 and retaining of this seat would be an herculean task for PTI this time.
The JI was enjoying coalition government with PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but it again fielded its own candidate Wasal Farooq Khan in NA-4 and the division of votes between the coalition partners would certainly benefit the rivals, they remarked.
NA-4 was comprised Hazarkhwani, Urmar, Pandu, Baghwana, Mathani, Tarnab, Badabair and Mathani where people are mostly associated with agriculture, bricks industries, government jobs and oversees employment.
The constituency has a lot of problems like poor roads conditions, lack of educational and health institutes, scarcity of clean drinking water, solid waste management system, unemployment, poor access roads from agriculture fields to markets, poverty and solid efforts are needed to address these issues.
In 2013 general elections, PTI late MNA Gulazar Khan had secured 55,134 votes whereas PMLN Nasir Musazi obtained 20,412 votes and stood runner-up. JI’s Sabir Awan had bagged 16,493 votes, ANP’s Arbab Ayub Jan secured 15,795 votes, JUI-F’s Arbab Kamal 12,519 votes and PPP’s candidate Misbahud¬din got over 12,000 votes respectively. This seat was won by ANP’s late Arbab Zahir Khan for record four times since 2008 general election.
NA-4 lies in the south of the provincial capital along Kohat and Bara roads sharing a border with Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency, Frontier Regions of Kohat and Peshawar and this constituency was created following the 2002 delimitation.
Source: APP
