PESHAWAR - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Zeeshan Khanzada has won elections on Senate seat with overwhelming majority from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by getting 104 votes out of a House of 145 on Tuesday.
The election process started at 9am and continued without break till the polling of last vote at around 3.30pm with Election Commissioner Khyber Pakhtunkmhwa Pir Maqbool Ahmad as Presiding Officer.
The first vote was polled by PPP’s Ahmed Kundi while the last by Deputy Speaker KP Assembly Mehmood Jan.
Announcing the unofficial results, Presiding Officer Pir Maqbool Ahmed (Provincial Election Commissioner) said Zeeshan Khanzada of PTI got 104 votes and Farzand Ali of the united Opposition secured 31 votes while four votes were rejected.
He informed that 139 members out of total 145 members in the assembly exercised their right to vote while six votes could not be polled. Those did not cast their votes include three members of Jamaat-e-Islami who boycotted the elections besides PTI’s Taj Muhammad Tarand, Faisal Zaib of ANP and Faisal Zaman independent who were abroad. The PTI secured four votes more than the strength it had in the provincial legislature. The PTI original strength in the house stood at 95, whereas its allies BAP (Balochistan Awami Party) have four seats and PML-Q has one.
KP Senior Minister Atif Khan told media that winning of PTI candidate would increase party’s representation in the Upper House of Parliament.
He felicitated Zeeshan Khanzada on his victory and hoped he would carry forward the mission of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
On the occasion, the winning candidate Zeeshan Khanzada told media it was victory of PTI for which he acknowledged the role of central and provincial leadership. He expressed resolve to strengthen Prime Minister Imran Khan in his mission of making Pakistan corruption free and prosperous.
KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan also felicitated Zeeshan Khanzada and said due to numerical strength in the provincial assembly, Khanzada easily won Senate seat vacated by Khanzada Khan of PPP.
He expressed gratitude to BAP for supporting PTI’s candidate in the poll.
Earlier, PPP leader Nighat Orakzai in a brief chat with media said that her party would take action against four members who what she believed deliberately wasted their votes in a bid to increase total tally of the winning candidate.
She expressed dismay over JI candidates for not participating in the election. She urged the opposition parties to investigate at their party level about the four votes polled extra to the PTI.
It is worth mentioning Khanzada Khan’s son Zeeshan Khanzada, who had joined PTI before resignation of his father Khanzada Khan as senator, had been given party ticket by PTI for Senate election.
