PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the most popular party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday after securing victory on 21 tehsil councils seats in the second phase of local government elections in the province, according to provisional results.

Polling in 65 tehsils of 18 districts in the province was held on Thursday. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam of Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman (JUI-F) and independent candidates clinched six seats each.

Declaration of provisional results for 42 seats by returning officers in the afternoon revealed that two seats each had been won by the Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Awami National Party (ANP). The Pakistan Raah-e-Haq Party and Qaumi Watan Party bagged one seat each.

All the three tehsil seats in Malakand district, seven out of the eight seats in Swat, four seats in Lower Dir and three seats in Shangla were won by PTI candidates. Similarly, the party secured one seat each in Lower Chitral, Abbottabad, Upper Dir, and Mansehra till the filing of this report.

Seats in Orakzai tribal district, Swat, Torghar and Lower Dir were among the constituencies in which the JUI-F candidates emerged as victorious. The Jamaat-e-Islami won seats in Upper Dir and Lower Dir, while the PML-N bagged the seats in Shangla and Mansehra.

The ANP secured one seat each in Lower Dir and Shangla.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022