ISLAMABAD – A day after the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) showed dismissal performance in the first phase of local body elections in its stronghold Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Prime Minister Imran Khan admitted the defeat, pinning blame on the wrong selection of candidates.
According to unofficial results, the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam Fazl (JUI-F) is leading the elections held in the 64 tehsils of the province, with winning 16 tehsil seats. PTI is runner up with 14 seats.
Independent candidates have won 10, ANP six, PML-N three, Jamaat-e-Islami two, and Tehreek-e-Istiqlal in the tehsil council polls.
Taking to Twitter, the premier said that he would “personally oversee” the party strategy for the second phase of the local body elections scheduled to be held next month in KPK.
PTI made mistakes in 1st phase of KP LG elections & paid the price. Wrong candidate selection was a major cause. From now on I will personally be overseeing PTI's LG election strategy in 2nd phase of KP LG elections & LG elections across Pak. InshaAllah PTI will come out stronger
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 21, 2021
“PTI made mistakes in [the] first phase of KP LG elections and paid the price,” he tweeted. “Wrong candidate selection was a major cause.
“From now on I will personally be overseeing PTI’s LG election strategy in [the] second phase of KP LG elections & LG elections across Pakistan.”
On the other hand, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif called the PTI’s poor performance “an expression of people’s anger over the back-breaking inflation, crushing price hike and the meltdown of governance”.
The people of KP have rejected the PTI. The ruling party's defeat is an expression of people's anger over the back-breaking inflation, crushing price hike & the meltdown of governance. It is the beginning of the end of an experiment that has cost the nation dearly.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) December 21, 2021
“The people of KP have rejected the PTI […] It is the beginning of the end of an experiment that has cost the nation dearly,” he added.
