In the first phase of local government elections held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Opposition parties have had a combined lead over the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), according to unofficial results.
Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz said that the ruling party lost because “PTI was contesting against PTI”.
“If it was not PTI vs PTI, we would have really won the elections. The results are still being announced. It was a crucial election but our performance has been really good,” said Shibli.
The PTI is ahead on 15 seats followed by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) 13, Awami National Party (ANP) nine, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) two, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) one each — which totals up to 26 seats for the Opposition parties as per unofficial and unverified results. Meanwhile, independent candidates are in the lead on 13 seats, reports Dawn.
In all, 12.668 million voters — seven million male and five and a half million female — were registered for the polls in the 17 KP districts.
In the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), local government elections were held for the first time in Khyber, Mohmand and Bajaur districts.
