Tag: KP polls

  • PTI approaches Supreme Court to hold elections in KP within 90 days

    PTI approaches Supreme Court to hold elections in KP within 90 days

    After Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict to hold Punjab polls on May 14, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has approached the top court to direct the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within the 90-day period since the assembly’s dissolution.

    The former ruling party has requested the apex court to set aside KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali’s notification to postpone the elections by five months and direct the ECP to conduct the polls “not later than 90 days subject to the barest minimum to that timeframe”.

    The PTI has argued that the “ECP has no jurisdiction or power to amend the Constitution” and hold elections beyond the constitutional period of 90 days. The electoral body also has “no power or jurisdiction to overrule or review” the Supreme Court’s verdict, the petition argues.

    On the matter of the KP Governor citing security concerns as the reason behind the delay, the PTI has stated in its petition that the “Constitution of Pakistan does not recognise any such illegal excuses” like “so-called financial constraints or a perceived law and order situation or lack of availability of adequate personnel”.

    After the ECP issued a delay notification for Punjab Assembly, Governor Ali also proposed October 8 for polls in KP.

  • KP LG polls: PTI loses, Shibli Faraz says party lost because of ‘PTI vs PTI’

    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.