ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has clinched victory in the by-election of NA-45, Kurram. This National Assembly seat had fallen vacant after the death of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) MNA Munir Orakzai in June 2020.

According to unofficial results of all 134 polling stations of NA-45, the PTI's candidate, Malik Fakhar Zaman, secured 16,911 votes. Muhammad Jamil Khan of the JUI-F, who bagged 15,761 votes, emerged as the runner-up.

Another independent candidate, Said Jamal, a cousin of the late Munir Orakzai, secured 15,559 votes. He as well as the JU-F's Jamil Khan have disputed the election results, accusing the ruling PTI of carrying out "massive rigging".

Munir Orakzai had represented the constituency for quite a long as an independent candidate - from 2002 to 2013 and then from 2018 till his demise on June 2, 2020 as JUI-F MNA.

This time around, Orakzai's cousin Said Jamal also known as "Baba-e-Kurram" was enjoying the support of the late MNA's family, though the two had previously contested against each other due to some family disputes.

Talking to Business Recorder over phone, JUI-F's candidate Jamil Khan claimed that the PTI candidate "has no stake in the constituency".

Khan said that he has already given an application for a vote recount, adding that he will also challenge the results in court.

"We believe that the elections results were changed overnight. That's why I have approached for the recount and if I don't get the justice, my next step would be to approach the court of law," he said.

According to him, meida has no access to NA-45 because it's a mountainous and far-flung constituency.

"In such a situation, it is not a difficult task to change the results in favour of the candidate of the ruling party," he claimed.

The PTI's local leadership, however, has denied the allegations.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021