Peshawar: Polling in by-elections to a
provincial assembly constituency in Pakistan's militancy-
affected Swat valley ended peacefully today with about 20 per
cent of the electorate exercising their right to franchise,
officials said.
Officials said members of the electorate cast their
ballots in a "free, fair and transparent manner" in the
constituency that was at the centre of the Taliban insurgency
in the region located 160 km from Islamabad.
However, only a few women voted in two polling stations.
No female voters turned up at the remaining 79 polling
stations.
Local residents said women usually did not exercise their
right to vote in the constituency, which fell vacant after
local lawmaker Shamsher Ali Khan was recently killed by a
suicide attacker.
The total turnout was however estimated at only around 20
per cent, they said.
Leaders of the opposition PML-Q, Jamiat-ul-Islam, Jamaat-
e-Islami and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf alleged there was
"massive rigging" by the Awami National Party, which rules the
North West Frontier Province.
The parties said they would file complaints with the
Election Commission.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 28, 2010, 23:57