Cantonment polls show PM Khan only national leader: Umar

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Asad Umar said on Monday that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the largest national party in cantonment board elections, as according to unofficial results so far the PTI secured 63 seats, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which came close and finished at second place by bagging 59 seats.

As per the unofficial and unverified results, the independent candidates secured 52 seats in total. Among other opposition parties, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won 17; Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), seven; Awami National Party (ANP), two; and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI F), one. Of the allied parties, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) won 10, whereas the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) secured two seats.

In his tweet, Umar said: “Cantonment elections once again show PTI not only as the largest party but also the only national party. PTI won either highest or second highest seats in every province.”

“PML N stood zero in Balochistan, 5th in Sindh. PPP zero in Punjab and Balochistan, 3rd in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP),” he wrote, adding: “Prime Minister Imran Khan is the only national leader.”

Meanwhile, opposition leader in National Assembly Mian Shahbaz Sharif said on Monday the results of cantonment board elections showed public confidence in the PML-N. The PML-N president assured the masses that the party will not disappoint them by continuing working hard to resolve their problems.

Vice President PML-N Maryam Nawaz said it was unprecedented that despite being the prime target the party did exceptionally well, adding: “PTI never contested polls on its electoral strength as it relies solely on scrounged support”.

The PTI won most of the seats in KP — 18 — followed by 28 in Punjab, 14 in Sindh and three in Balochistan. The PML-N won big in Punjab, bagging 51 seats, managing only five in KP, three in Sindh and none in Balochistan.

The PPP was surprisingly unable to defeat the PTI in Sindh, instead tying with them for 14 seats. The remaining three seats were won in KP, meaning none were won in either Punjab or Balochistan. Independent candidates scored big in Punjab, bagging 32 seats, nine in KP, seven in Sindh and four in Balochistan.

The MQM-P won all of its 10 seats in Sindh, whereas JI won five in Sindh and two in Punjab. ANP won two seats in KP, whereas BAP won two in Balochistan.In Sunday’s polls, 684 independent candidates from across the country were in the fray, while 876 candidates from political parties were contesting.

The highest number of candidates — 183 — were fielded by PTI, while 144 were from PML-N, 113 from PPP, 104 from JI, 42 from MQM-P, 35 from Pak Sarzamin Party, 34 from Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and 25 candidates from JUI-F.

Furthermore, 83 candidates of the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan also contested the polls. Of the candidates vying for the total 219 wards across 42 cantonment boards, seven candidates were already elected unopposed. Therefore, the race was held for 212 seats.