PML-N sweeps polls for local govt top slots in Punjab

Wins elections in 30 district councils, 11 municipal corporations; PTI, PPP unable to get a single mayor/ chairman’s office; PML-Q winner in District Council Attock; PM congratulates party workers; says results show people’s confidence in development policies

MULTAN: The ruling PML-N has had a clean sweep in the final phase of the local government elections in Punjab, as unofficial results showed that it won the chairman slot in 30 district councils with both the PPP and PTI unable to get the top positions in none of the districts.

However, the PML-Q managed to get its party candidate elected in District Council Attock, while independents remained successful in Bhakkar and Pakpattan.

Elections were not held for the top slots in two district councils Rawalpindi and Nankana due the stay orders issued by courts.

As far as the municipal corporations are concerned, the PML-N was successful in all the 11. Thus, the PMLN now has mayors/deputy mayors in Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Gujrat, Sahiwal, Multan, DG Khan and Bahawalpur.

The mayors/deputy mayors and district chairmen/vice chairmen will take oath on Dec 31 as the final phase of local government polls in the province would be completed with the declaration of results by the returning officers on Friday.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated the party workers, office-bearers and voters for securing an overwhelming majority across the Punjab, saying people had shown great trust and confidence in the development-oriented policies of the PML-N.

There were upsets in the polls of seven district councils with the family members or candidates backed by three federal ministers winners in three and losing in two.

It was an effective election strategy on the part of the PML-N, which enabled it to grab the district councils in Mianwali and Rahim Yar Khan in spite of the general feeling that these would be easily won by the PTI and PPP respectively.

The PTI had a clear majority in Mianwali but it was Gul Hameed Khan Rokhri, who was the winner with a wide margin. Similarly, the PPP enjoyed majority in Rahim Yar Khan but several members of Makhdoom Ahmed group opted to vote for the PML-N candidate Sardar Azhar Leghari instead of Makhdoom Ali Mehmood, the son of the former governor.

However in Attock, the nephew of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Ahsan Ali Khan, lost to PML-Q’s Iman Wasim, niece of Chaudhry Shujaat.

Polling was held in a peaceful manner at Multan’s Bosan Town Hall. A total of 138 voters cast their votes in the Multan District Council chairman elections. According to unofficial results, PML-N candidate Dewan Abbas Bukhari won the slot by securing 99 votes while PTI candidate Omer Farooq and PPP candidate Ghulam Dastgir got 14 and 25 votes respectively. The PML-N has won all the four vice-chairman slots in the district. The winners are Malik Zulfiqar Dogar, Syed Wajid Ali Shah, Malik Sarfraz and Rana Shahzad Noon. The PTI’s losing candidates are Malik Jamshed, Javed Iqbal Arian, Zulfiqar Ali Khakhi and Fayyaz Hussain while the PPP’s losing candidates include Chaudhry Muhammad Ahmad Gujjar, Malik Noor Zaman and Malik Allah Yar. Polling for the Multan city mayor and four deputy mayors was held at the Raza Hall where 91 members cast votes out of the total 93.

PML-N candidate Chaudhry Naveed Arian won the Multan mayor’s slot by securing 71 votes while his rival candidate Adnan Dogar of the PTI could receive only 19 votes. The PPP did not field a candidate for the slot. The PML-N also won two deputy mayor slots. The winners are Saeed Ansari and Munawar Ahsan Qureshi.

GUJRANWALA: According to the unofficial and unconfirmed results, Sheikh Sarwat Ikram of PML-N has been elected as the municipal corporation mayor while Mazhar Qayyum Nahra has won the district council chairman seat.

Sheikh Sarwart Ikram obtained 87 votes while his opponent independent candidate Yahya Butt could get eight votes. Salman Khalid, Pomi Butt and Rana Masood of PML-N have been elected as deputy mayors.

In the district council elections, Mazhar Qayyum won the seat by getting 94 votes while his opponent Faisal Qadir Bhinder of PTI could obtain only 22 votes. Ejaz Proya and Rana Amir Nazir of PML-N have been elected as vice-chairmen of the district council.

In Qila Didar Singh municipal committee, Sheikh Yaqoob of PML-N has been elected as the chairman by getting 13 votes while his opponent Sheikh Fayyaz could get only five votes.

In Alipur Chattha municipal committee, Riaz Ahmad Dar of PML-N has won chairman’s seat by getting 20 votes while his opponent Zaigham Chattha could obtain only six votes.

In Gakhar municipal committee, Mir Zafar of PML-N has been elected as chairman with 23 votes while his opponent Abdul Waheed Butt could get nine votes.

HAFIZABAD: According to unofficial results, PML-N candidate Ch Afzal Hussain Tarar and Rai Qamar were elected as the district council chairman and vice-chairman respectively.

Afzal Hussain Tarar is the father of State Minister Saira Afzal Tarar. Afzal Hussain Tarar obtained 39 votes while his opponent Qaisar Chaddar of PTI obtained 21 votes.

In the Hafizabad Municipal Committee, PML-N candidate Haji Jamshed Abbas was elected as chairman and Khalid Butt as vice-chairman. Jamshed obtained 30 votes while his opponent Malik Gul Nawaz, nephew of PML-N MPA Malik Fiaz Ahmad, obtained 28 votes.

In Sukheke municipal committee, Nasir Qayyum of PML-N was elected as chairman. He obtained 13 votes while his opponent Sajid Mehmood of PTI obtained only eight votes.

NANKANA SAHIB: The Allied Group candidate defeated the PML-N candidate in elections for the Nankana municipal committee mayor slot.

The Allied group candidate, Ch Naeem Ahmad, secured 22 votes while his opponent Rao Faheem Ahmad obtained 18 votes. The Allied group consists of councillors of PTI and PPP. Ch Naeem Ahmad is also the press club secretary general. In Warburton MC, PML-N candidate Sheikh Jamil was declared winner. He obtained 16 votes while his opponent candidate Waheed could get only five votes.

In the Sangla Hill MC, independent Hassan Malhi was elected as mayor. He obtained 18 votes while his opponent candidate Faqeer Muhammad (independent) secured 17 votes.

In Shahkot MC, Zulfiqar Sindhu of PML-N and his rival candidate Sheikh Rashid got equal votes.

VEHARI: Elections for district council chairman and municipal committee mayor were held in peaceful atmosphere.

According to unofficial results, PML-N candidate Peer Ghulam Mohiuddin Chishti was elected as the DC chairman by securing 77 votes while his opponent (independent) candidate Ch Zahid Iqbal got 37 votes.

In the Vehari MC, independent candidate Sheikh Muhammad Hussain was elected as mayor by securing 18 votes while PML-N candidate Nadir Bhatti got 14 votes.

JARANWALA: Elections for slots of chairman and vice-chairman of the municipal committee were held at the Government Commerce College here.

According to unofficial results, Mustafa Anwar Rai of PML-N was elected as chairman and Sh Habibur Rehman as vice-chairman. They obtained 27 votes. The rival candidate for the slot of chairman, Yasir Raza Awan, could secure 13 votes.

MANDI BAHAUDDIN: The PML-N candidates won the district council and municipal committee elections here on Thursday.

According to unofficial results, Ghulam Hussain Bosal, former MPA and Malakwal tehsil nazim, was elected as the district council chairman by obtaining 89 votes while his opponent Haji Imtiaz Ahmad, former Mandi Tehsil Nazim, could obtain only 14 votes.

Haji Nasir Ali and Rana Muhammad Sarfraz of PML-N got 35 votes to capture chairman and vice-chairman slots of the Mandi Bahauddin Municipal Committee. Amanullah Babar and Iqbal Hassan of PML-N won the Phalia MC chairman and vice-chairman slots unopposed.

TOBA TEK SINGH: According to unofficial results, Begum Fauzia Warraich of PML-N was elected as the district council chairperson while her panel’s Pir Syed Akhtar Abbas Kirmani of Kamalia and Irfan Azam Sipra of Toba were elected as district council vice-chairmen.

Fauzia Warraich is the wife of MNA from Gojra Khalid Javed Warraich. She obtained 99 out of 109 votes.

In Toba municipal committee, PTI candidate Ghulam Nabi Mithu Gujjar defeated PML-N candidate Atif Safdar Randhawa. Mithu obtained 20 votes while Randhawa secured 18 votes. Mithu’s panel’s Saeedur Rehman Tahir was elected as vice-chairman.

In Gojra MC, Mian Muhammad Islam of PML-N won the chairman’s slot and Malik Muhammad Nazim won the vice-chairman’s slot by securing 30 votes while National Muslim League candidate Sajjad Sohal and his panel’s candidate Rana Tariq Naeem of PTI remained the runner-up by getting 13 votes.

In the Pirmahal MC, Khalid Sardar and Sultan Ahmad won the chairman and vice-chairman slots respectively by getting 19 votes while independent candidates Malik Kokab Rashid and Kashif Jan remained runner-up by getting six votes.

In the Kamalia MC, PML-N candidate Malik Muhammad Sharif and his panel’s Mahmoodul Hasan Jat of Awam League were elected as chairman and vice-chairman respectively by securing all 43 votes.

OKARA: Elections for the district council and seven municipal committees were held here.

According to unofficial results, PML-N candidate Malik Ali Qadir was elected as the DC chairman along with vice-chairmen Rao Saad Ajmal Khan and Sabahat Nawaz Khan. The PPP panel comprising Nawab Ali, Ali Haider Wattoo and Zaman Wattoo could obtain only 23 votes and lost the elections.

In Basirpur MC, PML-N candidate Mian Inam Rasool was elected as chairman along with Mian Basharat and Ali Chachar as vice-chairmen.

In Mandi Ahmadabad MC, PML-N candidate Mirza Nazim Baig was elected as chairman along with Malik Ali Gohar as vice-chairman. In Haveli Lakha MC, the PML-N panel, comprising Shoaib Qadir Wattoo was elected as chairman along with Hanif Rehmani as vice-chairman.

In Hujra Shah Moqeem MC, the PML-N panel comprising Syed Zulfiqar Haider Gilani was elected chairman along with Syed Ijaz Gilani alias Pappu Shah as vice-chairman.

In Okara MC, the PML-N panel consisting of Ch Muhammad Azhar was elected unopposed as chairman along with Sheikh Liaqat Ali as vice-chairman.

In Depalpur MC, PML-N candidate Fakhar Hussain Bodla was elected as chairman unopposed along with Ghazanfar Ali Jatala as vice-chairman.

In Renala Khurd MC, PPP candidate Malik Tariq Javed was elected as chairman along with Muhammad Ashraf Chishti as vice-chairman.

JHANG: According to unofficial results, PML-N candidate Babar Khan Sial got 67 votes and won the Jhang District Council chairman’s slot while Muhammad Abbas Shah and Iqbal Jaboana of the PML-N won the vice-chairman slots.

PML-N candidate Sheikh Nawaz Akram won the Jhang Municipality chairmanship by getting 38 votes. Similarly, independent candidate Muhammad Rafiq won the Shorkot Municipality chairmanship, PML-N candidate Ch Aslam the Garh Maharaja Municipality chairmanship and independent candidate Habibur Rehman the Athara Hazari Municipality chairmanship. PML-N candidate Rana Tauqeer Asif had already been elected unopposed as the Ahmadpur Sial Municipality chairman.

BUREWALA: According to unofficial results, Ch Muhammad Ashiq Arain has been elected as chairman and Iftikhar Ahmad Bhatti as vice-chairman of the Municipal Committee Burewala.

They were backed by PML-N MNA Ch Nazir Ahmad Arain and MPA Ch Irshad Ahmad Arain. Chaudhry Muhammad Ashiq Arain and Iftikhar Ahmad Bhatti got 27 votes while the PML-N forward bloc and Naseem Shah group-supported candidates Mian Abdul Mateen and Rao Azizur Rehman got 18 votes.

CHAKWAL: According to unofficial results, PML-N candidates Tariq Aslam and Ch Khurshid Baig were elected as the district council chairman and vice-chairman respectively.

In the Chakwal Municipal Committee, PML-N candidates Ch Sajjad Ahmed and Qamar Shadial were elected as chairman and vice-chairman respectively.

In the Lawa Municipal Committee, PML-Q candidates Qadeer Altaf and Asif Nawaz were elected as chairman and vice-chairman respectively.

Four chairmen and vice-chairmen of Bhoun, Kalar Kahar, Choa Saidan Shah and Talagang MCs had already been elected unopposed.

ARIFWALA: Elections for the municipal committee chairmanship were tied here on Thursday.

The candidates belonging to two groups of the PML-N secured 22 votes each. One group is led by MNA Rana Zahid Hussain Khan and the other by Dr Farrukh Javed and district president Khan Imtiaz Ali Khan. Now the winner will be decided through a toss.

DERA GHAZI KHAN: The PML-N won elections for the slots of Dera Ghazi Khan District Council chairman with huge margin and Municipal Corporation mayor with a narrow margin of just one vote.

Sardar Abdul Qadir Khan Khosa was elected as district council chairman while Sardar Javed Iqbal Qaisrani and Sardar Muhammad Ahmad Khan Leghari as vice-chairmen by securing 106 votes. The rival panel of PTI could get 14 votes only.

In the DK Khan MC elections, Shahid Hameed Khan Chandia was elected as mayor and Sheikh Israr Ahmad as deputy mayor by securing 14 votes while the rival panel comprising Syed Imran Shah and Zulqarnain Lashari secured 13 votes. The defeated panel was fielded by PML-N MPA Syed Abdul Aleem Shah.

LALAMUSA: Chaudhry Nadeem Asghar Kaira, cousin of PPP central Punjab president Chaudhry Qamar Zaman Kaira, was elected as the Lalamusa Municipal Committee chairman.

According to unofficial results, he secured 20 votes while joint candidate of PTI and PML-N Shabbir Bhatti could get only 11 votes.

In the Gujrat District Council, PML-N candidate Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Tanveer was elected as chairman by obtaining 77 votes while his rival candidate Begum Sumaira Elahi of PML-Q bagged 63 votes. The defeated candidate is the sister of PML-Q leader Ch Shujaat Hussain.

In Jalalpur Jattan MC, Hashim Shah of PML-Q was elected as chairman. In Kharian MC, Sheikh Hafeez was elected as chairman. In Dinga MC, Mian Muhammad Aslam of PML-N was elected as chairman. In Sari Alamgir MC, Mirza Haq Nawaz of PML-N was elected as chairman.

MALAKWAL: The winner of the Malakwal Municipal Committee chairman slot will be announced through a toss today after a tie between two candidates.

According to unofficial results, PML-N candidate Qadeerul Hassan Shah and independent candidate Qamar Khan bagged seven votes each.

After announcement of the unofficial result, supporters of Qamar Khan started protest in front of the TMA office and chanted slogans against the PML-N district president and MPA Shafqat Gondal for allegedly rigging the elections. The police present outside the TMA office baton-charged the protesters when they tried to enter a polling station. As a result, a youth was injured. Meanwhile, Retuning Officer Asif Raza said that a toss would be held at the TMA office at 11am today.

PAKPATTAN: An independent candidate Mian Muhammad Aslam Sukhera was elected as the DC chairman while Mian Aslam Pervaiz Hotiana and Peer Israr Zafar Bodla were elected as vice-chairmen.

In Pakpattan MC, PML-N candidates Muzaffar Iqbal and Ch Israr were elected as chairman and vice-chairman respectively.

SIALKOT: Hina Arshad Warraich of PML-N, daughter of MPA Arshad Javed Warraich, has been elected as chairperson of the Sialkot District Council with a huge margin.

According to unofficial results, Hina Arshad secured 125 votes against her rival candidate of PTI Sikandar Khan, who got 18 votes.

Former MPA Ch Jamil Ashraf, Ch Raza Subhani and Malik Ziafat Ali Awan have also been elected as vice-chairmen of the Sialkot District Council.

APP adds from Khanewal: PML-N candidate for district council chairmanship Raza Ghulam Jafar Sargana won elections with a huge margin on Thursday. According to unofficial results, Sargana got 127 votes while his opponent Abdur Rahim Niazi of the PTI secured 33 votes.

APP adds from Faisalabad: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidates won all the seats in the final stage of local government (LG) elections in the district. According to unofficial results, Chaudhry Zahid Nazir got 176 votes and was elected as district council chairman while his opponent PTI candidate Sardar Khan Bahadur Dogar could get only 16 votes. There were a total 214 votes in the district council. Of them, 194 votes were cast and two were rejected. In the Faisalabad Municipal Corporation, the actual fight was between the PML-N candidates. Muhammad Razzaq Malik got 105 votes while his opponent Sheraz Kahloon bagged 73 votes. The entire election process was completed in a peaceful manner.

APP adds from Sahiwal: The PML-N on Thursday won seats of chairman and vice-chairmen the Sahiwal district council. According to unofficial results, Ch Zahid Iqbal was elected as chairman by obtaining 96 votes while Rana Sajjad and Rana Farooq were elected as vice-chairmen.

APP adds from Sheikhupura: PML-N candidate Rana Ahmad Attiq Anwar on Thursday won the seat of the district council chairman while Jehanzaib Khan was elected as vice-chairman.

According to unofficial results, Rana Attiq got 72 votes while his rival candidate Shahzad Dogar secured 52 votes. Mian Amjad Latif was elected as chairman of the Sheikhupura Municipal Committee, Shabir Ahmad as chairman of the Muridke Municipal Committee, Malik Arif as chairman of the Narang Mandi Municipal Committee, Farhad Bahadur as chairman of the Ferozewala Municipal Committee, Bashir Kamboh as chairman of the Manawala Municipal Committee, Imran Ali Ashraf as chairman of the Sharaqpur Municipal Committee, Ilyas Ali Sial as chairman of the Abdul Malik Municipal Committee, Abdul Malik Khalid Mahmood as chairman of the Safdarabad Municipal Committee and Ali Akbar as chairman of the Khanqa Dogran Municipal Committee.

For the Farooqabad Municipal Committee, Sajjad Hussain and Dr Zafar Ali got 10 votes each. The returning officer will decide the winner through a toss.

APP adds from Muzaffargarh: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz won four municipal committees (MCs) out of the total six in the district.

According to unofficial results, PML-N candidate Shahid Baryar won from Kot Addu Municipal Committee, Syed Ghazanfar Mustafa from Alipur Municipal Committee, Liaqat Qureshi from Khangarh Municipal Committee, Riaz Hussain from Sanawan Municipal Committee.

In Muzaffargarh Municipal Committee, an upset occurred as PML-N candidate lost the election. Qadoos Nawaz Khan, who is brother of PML-N MPA Hammad Nawaz got 26 votes. Akram Khan Chandia, an independent candidate from Councillors Alliance, won against him by securing 29 votes.

Similarly, Razia Begum, an independent candidate for chairmanship of Jatoi Municipal Committee, emerged as a winner. She got 19 votes while her rival PML N Panel could secure 11 votes.

PML-N candidate Umar Khan Gopang won the DC chairman slot. According to unofficial results, Gopang secured 117 votes while his rival candidate Zulfiqar Qureshi obtained 11 votes.

APP adds from Bahawalpur: Aqeel Najam Hashmi of PML-N has been elected as mayor of the Bahawalpur City and Munir Iqbal Channar as deputy mayor.

According to unofficial results, Aqeel Najam Hashmi and Muneer Iqbal Channar got 28 votes while four votes were polled in favour of Zahid Mehmood Channar and Qayyum Azam. Sheikh Dilshad Ahmad of PML-N has been elected as chairman of the District Council while Sahibzada Fazal Mehmood and Muhammad Javed Chaudhry have been elected as vice-chairmen.

APP adds from Sargodha: PML-N candidate Sardar Asim Sher Maken has been elected as the district council chairman by defeating opposition alliance candidate Farrukh Javed Ghumman with a huge margin while Sarfraz Ali Bhatti, Gulshan Sherazi and Mazhar Shah were elected as vice-chairmen.

According to unofficial results, out of total 185 votes, the PML-N candidates secured 124 votes while the PTI candidate got 61 votes.

PML-N candidate Malik Aslam Naveed has already been elected as the Sargodha Municipal Corporation mayor. In Silanwali Municipal Committee, Malik Arshad of PML-N was elected as chairman with 14 votes while his opponent Malik Abdul Rauf secured only six votes.

In Sahiwal Municipal Committee, Zaigham Hassan of PML-N secured 14 votes and his opponent Rao Jafar Ali secured five votes.

In Shahpur Municipal Committee, PML-N candidate Abdul Rehman Dhuddi has been elected as chairman by securing 10 votes while his opponent candidate Tahir Iqbal secured six votes.

In Bhalwal Municipal Committee, Malik Safdar has been elected as chairman.

PTI candidate Tahir Rasheed Gujjar won the Kot Momin Municipal Committee chairman slot by defeating PML-N candidate Mazhar Hanif.

APP adds from Rajanpur: The PML-N on Thursday won seats of the district council chairman and vice-chairman. According to the returning officer, Abdul Aziz of PML-N got 59 votes and was elected as the chairman while Mirza Shahzad Humayun was elected as the vice-chairman.