In a major development ahead of the PTI Senate elections, four displeased PTI candidates from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have withdrawn their nominations.
Waqas Orakzai was the first to step back, followed by Irshad Hussain, Irfan Saleem, and Ayesha Bano. Only Khurram Zeeshan remains in the race among the group of dissatisfied party members.
PTI senate elections see shift as angry candidates step aside
Speaking to private news channels, Irshad Hussain confirmed his withdrawal and said, “I don’t want to contest. Please drop my name.” He added that all the angry PTI candidates except Khurram Zeeshan have withdrawn from the race.
He also revealed that he had to convince Irfan Saleem to withdraw, warning him that continuing would damage his political future.
Earlier, Waqas Orakzai had also clarified that withdrawing from the PTI Senate elections did not mean he had changed his views. He said Barrister Gohar and Salman Akram Raja had assured him that the party tickets were finalized by the PTI founder himself.
With the PTI Senate elections taking place today, the KP Assembly now stands complete after 25 members on reserved seats took oath on Sunday. This final step completed the electoral college required for the Senate vote.
A total of 25 candidates are contesting for 11 Senate seats, with 145 members expected to cast their votes.
According to an agreement between the government and opposition, 6 seats will go to the ruling side and 5 to the opposition. Both sides are now united against the remaining angry PTI candidates.
The withdrawals have cleared the path for the agreed upon candidates, giving PTI and its allies an upper hand in the KP Senate vote.
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