PTI wins Peshawar's NA-4 by-poll by wide margin

PESHAWAR: According to unofficial and unconfirmed reports, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has won by-election in Peshawar’s National Assembly constituency NA-4 by a wide margin on Thursday.

PTI’s Arbab Amir secured 47, 586 votes, while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Nasir Khan Mosazai stood runner-up with 25, 267.

Awami National Pakistan candidate Khushdil Khan managed to get 25,143 votes to secure the third place.

The election was held after the seat fell vacant following the death of PTI estranged MNA Gulzar Khan.

Chairman PTI Imran Khan congratulated the PTI candidate and Peshawar team of PTI calling it a victory against combined opposition forces.

“This was a victory against combined opposition forces. This success is a direct vote of confidence on performance of KP’s PTI govt and not the doling out of development funds the PML-N-style as seen in NA120,” he wrote on his social media account.

This success is a direct vote of confidence on performance of KP’s PTI govt & not the doling out of “dev” funds PMLN-style as seen in NA120 https://t.co/9XqEjAKebw

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 26, 2017

Congratulations to PTI’s victorious Arbab Amir in NA 4 and to the PTI Peshawar team. This was a victory against combined opposition forces

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 26, 2017

Read More: ECP to introduce result transmission system through mobile phone in NA-4 by-poll

Other PTI leaders also congratulated Arbab Amir on this victory.

Congratulations to Arbab Aamir Ayub & all Insafians on the landslide victory in NA 4.

— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) October 26, 2017

Alhamdulillah, today KP has given a befitting reply to the frequent query put forth by PTI critics: “Khan ne KP main kya kar lia?” 1/2

— Jahangir Khan Tareen (@JahangirKTareen) October 26, 2017

Congratulations to Arbab Amir & party supporters across Pakistan, on this huge victory😊 No doubt, PTI is an idea whose time has come, IA 2/2

— Jahangir Khan Tareen (@JahangirKTareen) October 26, 2017

Congrat. to PTI’s Candidate Arbab Amir & all #PTI Workers/Supporters for #NA4 Victory.

— Pervaiz Khattak (@Pervaiz_Khattak) October 26, 2017

Fourteen candidates were in the run for the NA-4 seat but it was a tough contest between PTI’s Arbab Amir and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Nasir Khan Mosazai.

Besides the PML-N and PTI, the Pakistan Peoples Party, Awami National Party and Jamaat-i-Islami had also fielded their candidates.

The NA-4 constituency consists of 26 local bodies wards. Peshawar have four National Assembly and 11 provincial assembly seats. In the 2013 general election, the PTI had swept all the four NA seats and 10 of the 11 provincial assembly seats.

However, when Imran Khan vacated the NA-1 seat (Peshawar city), Ghulam Ahmed Bilour of the ANP won it in the by-election months after the installation of the PTI government in KP.

The PTI had won the NA-4 seat in 2013 by a big margin of 34,722 votes. The party’s candidate Gulzar Khan had received 55,134 votes while the runner-up, Nasir Khan Mosazai of the PML-N, got 20,412. The Jamaat’s Sabir Hussain Awan came third with 16,493 votes.

The total number of registered voters in the constituency are 397,952 – 235,127 men and 162,825 women. There are 269 polling stations, with 837 polling booths.

Read More: Lahore: PML-N regains power with victory in NA-120 by-poll

For the first time electronic vote machines was used at 100 polling booths in the constituency during the election.

The election commission had declared 181 polling stations as sensitive. The contingents of Army and 5,000 policemen were deployed for security. Two helicopters of the army also assisted the law enforcers for aerial surveillance and security.

The polling continued without break till 5:00 pm.