ISLAMABAD (Staff Report) – Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) emerges as the second largest party in first-ever local government elections in the federal capital, after claiming the chairman’s slot in at least 17 of the 50 union councils.
In the Monday’s elections, the ruling PML-N bagged 19 seats followed by PTI. Fourteen union councils were won by independent candidates.
Over 2,400 candidates contested for the slots of chairman, vice chairman and councillors. The seventeen PTI candidates elected unopposed comprise 8 General Councillors, three women seats, 9 minorities seats and one Youth seat.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday challenged the results of seven union councils of Islamabad.
Chairman Imran Khan said his party would challenge the results and put up its candidate for the election of mayor in Islamabad.
We are challenging 7 UC Ch/VCh results which were suddenly altered overnight after PMLN was effectively exposed by PTI.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 1, 2015
We will be putting up our candidate for Mayor inshaAllah in Islamabad.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 1, 2015
Party leaders are demanding the results to be declared by the Election Commission of Pakistan as soon as possible. “PTI has serious reservations regarding the consolidation of results in at least seven UCs. We are waiting for the final results, only then will we decide whether to challenge them or not,” Asad Umer told the media on Tuesday.
Eleven of the 17 UCs won by PTI are located within the limits of the NA-48 constituency, while the remaining five are located in the mostly-rural NA-49, which is the stronghold of PML-N’s Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry.
Sources say this is an unexpected win for party itself. Following their rout in the first and second phases of LG elections in Punjab and Sindh, the PTI leadership was hopeful of a decent showing in the capital, where it had twice won the NA-48 constituency in the 2013 elections, fielding Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and Asad Umar in the general and by-elections, respectively.
Senior journalists believe it was the internal strife that put the local PML-N chapter on the back foot, giving PTI candidates an advantage they did not expect.
Under the circumstances – with the PML-N in-charge of the federal government and Capital Development Authority – winning this many seats is surely a good omen for Imran Khan’s party.
