Coalition Partners in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agree on Seat Adjustment for Provincial Assembly By-Elections

Strategic Insights -

Leaders of the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) have agreed to a seat adjustment for the provincial assembly by-elections in Shangla and Tank, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The parties have decided to support each other's candidates in the two by-elections, with the PPP backing the ANP nominee in Shangla and the ANP withdrawing its candidate in favor of the PPP in Tank. The decision was made after a successful meeting between the provincial leadership of the two parties.

Key Takeaways:

  • The ANP and PPP have agreed to a seat adjustment for the provincial assembly by-elections in Shangla and Tank, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
  • The PPP will support the ANP candidate in Shangla, while the ANP will withdraw its candidate in favor of the PPP in Tank.
  • The seat adjustment was made after a successful meeting between the provincial leadership of the two parties, led by ANP Provincial Information Secretary Arbab Tahir Khalil.
  • Former provincial minister Habibullah Khan Kundi, who joined the ANP prior to the by-election last year, had won the ANP ticket for the lone assembly seat from Tank.
  • The PPP candidate in Tank, Dawar Khan Kundi, is the son of former provincial minister Amanullah Khan Kundi and cousin of deputy speaker of the National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi.
  • The ruling parties, ANP and PPP, have been accused of violating election rules and regulations, with provincial and federal ministers involved in electioneering for the ANP candidate.

Statistics:

  • Five candidates are in the run for the Shangla by-polls seat.
  • The seat fell vacant after the death of Pakistan Muslim League-Q MPA Mohammad Zahir Shah.
  • The by-election on provincial assembly seat, PK-69 Tank, will be held on February 28.
  • The Election Commission had twice suspended the by-election schedule due to deteriorating law and order situation and devastating floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
  • The ANP candidate in Shangla, Mohammad Yar Khan, had lost to the PML-Q candidate, Zahir Shah, in the 2008 election by a small margin.

Sources:

  • Arbab Tahir Khalil, ANP Provincial Information Secretary
  • Amir Muqam, PML-Q provincial president and MNA from Shangla
  • Election Commission announcements
  • Reports from the by-election campaigns