ChitralToday Election Focus: NA-32
CHITRAL, March 31: Chitral has only one seat (NA-32) in the National Assembly of Pakistan. The constituency covers the whole of Chitral.
The district of Chitral spreads over 14,850 square kilometers and according to the 1998 census it had a population of 318,689 – 162,082 males and 142,582 females. Currently, the population of Chitral is estimated to be around 0.5 million.
People of Chitral live in around 500 small and scattered villages. There are over 35 sub-valleys including Garam Chashma, Kalash valleys, Shishi Koh, Mastuj, Yarkhun, Laspur, Tor Khow and Mol Khow. The majority of people in the lower Chitral, except for Garam Chashma, are Sunni Muslims while the Ismaili Muslims live in majority in the upper Chitral and Garam Chashma.
Basic information Number of voters in Chitral updated with the Election Commission of Pakistan’s Chitral office on March 30, 2013: 205,989 Males: 119,961 Females: 86,028 In the 2008 elections, the number of voters was 200657 – 117689 males and 82968 females. Out of these, 114904 voters were in lower and 85753 were in upper Chitral.
Total polling stations: 257 Female polling stations: two (Chitral town and Zhughore) Total polling booths: 642 For males: 358 For females: 284
VOTING HISTORY: In 2008 elections, Shahzada Mohiuddin (PML-Q) won with 33278 votes, while Sardar Mohammad Khan (independent) got 31120 votes, Shahzada Ghulam Mohiuddin (PPP) 18516 votes, Molvi Mohammad Jehangir Khan (MMA) 2,759 votes and Nadir Khawaja (Independent) 695 votes. In the 2002 elections, Abdul Akbar Khan (MMA) won the race with 36130 votes while Iftikharuddin (PML-Q) remained the runner-up with 23,907 votes and Sardar Ali Sardar Aman (PPP) trailed third with 20,862 votes. In 1997, PML’s Shhazada Mohiuddin returned by getting 24,302 votes.
His close rival Ahmed Saeed Khan of the PPP got 12,222 votes followed by PPP SB’s Allah Dad (6,977 votes), and Maulvi Abdul Hamid Khan of the JUI with 6,538 votes. The turnout again dropped by almost seven per cent – over 10 per cent as compared to the 1988 polls. In 1993, five candidates were in the run for the seat. Maulana Abdur Rahim of Pakistan Islamic Front won the seat with 16,275 votes. Others were Begum Suleman Khan of the PPP (15,765 votes), Shahzada Mohiuddin of the PML-N (14,560 votes) and Ghulam Nabi Khan and Syed Qasim Shah, both independent candidates, 8,234 and 2,333 votes, respectively.
The percentage of votes cast this time dropped by more than eight. The number of registered voters was 121, 297. Then in 1991, Shahzada Mohiuddin of the IJI defeated Pyar Ali Allana of Karachi by a margin of 14,641 votes. The IJI candidate got 36,269 votes. The JUI’s Obaidullah got 6,282 votes and 184 votes went to Mohammad Jehangir. Over 56 per cent of the voters used their right to franchise which was about five per cent higher than in 1988 elections.
In the 1988 elections, Begum Nusrat Bhutto of the PPP won the seat by getting 32,812 votes. Her close rival Shahzada Mohiuddin of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, who had been elected from the seat in 1985, bagged 23,405 votes. The other contesters were Begum Sher Wali Khan (1,423 votes), and Mufti Noorullah (726 votes). The total number of voters was 116, 400 and the turnout remained 51.47 per cent. Later, Nusrat Bhutto vacated the seat for an old PPP worker Syed Ghafoor Shah.