In a major development, PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan emerged victorious in the NA-45 Kurram by-elections.
According to the unofficial results from all 143 polling stations of NA-45, Imran Khan secured 20,748 votes, while PDM-backed JUI-F’s candidate Jamil Khan stood second with 12,718 votes.
Imran Khan’s victory in NA-45 is important as Imran Khan has won all four National Assembly seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where by-elections were held for filling seats declared vacant after the resignations of the then incumbent MNAs, belonging to PTI.
Read more: Imran Khan proved most popular leader after landslide victory in By-elections 2022
Moreover, Kurram used to be a stronghold for JUI-F, however, Imran Khan won that too without any political campaigning for Kurram. This proves that the popularity of the incumbent coalition government is continuing to spiral. The PDM coalition is losing its supporters to Imran Khan.
Continuing the pattern of recent by-elections, PTI’s @ImranKhanPTI has comfortably won NA seat vacated due to its MNA’s resignation in NA-45 Khurram-I in today’s by-election. Party has also considerably increased its vote share from 24% in GE2018 & 30% in BE-2021 to 58% today!
— احمد بلال محبوبAhmedBilalMehboob (@ABMPildat) October 30, 2022
Interestingly, Imran Khan’s NA-45 Kurram victory also comes after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced its verdict in the Toshakhana reference by stating that Imran Khan submitted a false affidavit and was found involved in corrupt practices, thus disqualifying him. On the other hand, PTI and its supporters totally rejected the verdict and Imran Khan later challenged the verdict in the Islamabad High Court.
PTI celebrates Imran Khan’s victory
As a result, Imran Khan’s victory is being celebrated across the nation. Reacting to Imran Khan defeating PDM once again, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said the people have rejected the decisions made in ‘closed rooms’.
Fawad Chaudhry said that the nation has rejected the ECP’s decision to disqualify the former premier, demanding the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Raja Sultan’s resignation after the NA-45 victory.
الیکشن کمشنر اور ممبران کے فیصلوں کو عوام نے مسترد کیا ہے اب آپ عوام کے فیصلے کے سامنے سر تسلیم خم کریں اور استعفیٰ دیں،اداروں سے کہتا ہوں عوام کے خلاف نہ جائیں اب تک عدم اعتماد کے بعد 37 الیکشن میں تحریک انصاف انتیس جیتی عوام آپ کی عزت کرتی ہے لیکن حتمی فیصلے عوام کو کرنے دیں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) October 30, 2022
He also accused Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman of running a religious hatred campaign in NA-45 Kurram constituency. However, he added, the people of Kurram rejected the hatred campaign and elected Imran Khan.
Read more: Imran Khan disqualified: PTI to challenge ECP verdict in Toshakhana case