The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F and the PTI were neck and neck with five seats each on Monday night after re-polling and fresh polls were carried out peacefully on Sunday for mayor/chairman of 20 tehsil councils in 13 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkwa, according to unofficial results.
Re-polling was carried out in 19 tehsils for the seats of mayor/chairman while fresh polling was held for Dera City Council’s mayoral slot, bringing to completion the first phase of local government election in the province. Unofficial results showed that JUI-F and the PTI won five seats each after Sunday’s polling. Independent candidates and the Tehreek-i-Islahat Pakistan won two seats each while the Awami National Party secured one seat. Results for five seats are still pending.
Collectively, out of 66 tehsil councils, this translates into a comfortable lead for JUI-F with 23 seats followed by the PTI bagging 14, and independent candidates winning nine seats. The ANP bagged seven seats, while the PML-N won three. The Jamaat-i-Islami and TIP won two seats each and the PPP managed only one. PTI candidate Umar Amin Gandapur, the brother of federal minister Ali Amin Gandapur, won the contest in JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman’s hometown, securing 63,758 votes to clinch the seat of Dera Ismail Khan city mayor.
JUI-F’s Zubair Ali won the seat for Peshawar mayor after securing 63,610 votes.
