PTI bags Senate seat from KP

Another Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Zeeshan Khanzada elected as member of Upper House (Senate) with overwhelming majority from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by getting 104 votes out of a House of 145 on Tuesday.

The election process started at 9:00 a.m and continued without break till the around 3.30 p.m. The Provincial Election Commissioner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pir Maqbool Ahmad performed as Presiding Officer.

The first vote was polled by Ahmed Kundi of PPP while the last by Deputy Speaker KP Assembly Mahmood Jan.

Announcing the unofficial results Presiding Officer Pir Maqbool Ahmed (Provincial Election Commissioner) said Zeeshan Khanzada of PTI got 104 votes while Farzand Ali Wazir of the joint opposition secured 31 votes and four votes were rejected. He said that out of total 145-member of the House 139 votes were cast while six votes could not be polled as three members of Jamaat-e-Islami boycotted the elections while three MPAs including PTI's Taj Muhammad Tarand, Faisal Zaib of ANP and Faisal Zaman independent were abroad.

The PTI candidate secured four additional votes than the strength it had in the provincial legislature. The PTI' original strength in the house stood at 95, whereas its allies BAP (Balochistan Awami Party) have four seas while PML-Q has one.

Talking to media, KP Senior Minister Atif Khan told in jubilant mood that winning of PTI candidate would increase party's representation in the Upper House of Parliament. He felicitated Zeeshan Khanzada on his win and expressed the hope he would carry forward the mission of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

On the occasion the winning candidate Zeeshan Khanzada told media it was victory of PTI for which he acknowledged the role of central and provincial leadership. He expressed resolve to strengthen Prime Minister Imran Khan in his mission of making Pakistan corruption free and prosperous.

Meanwhile, the KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan also felicitated Zeeshan Khanzada and said due to numerical strength in the provincial assembly, Khanzada comfortably won Senate seat vacated by Khanzada Khan of PPP, who had defected to PTI. He expressed gratitude to Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) for supporting PTI's candidate.

Earlier, PPP's firebrand woman legislator Nighat Orakzai in a brief chat with media said that her party would take action against four members who what she believed deliberately wasted their votes in a bid to increase total tally of the winning candidate.