General elections were held in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

on Wednesday, 25 July 2018 to elect the 51 members of 15th National Assembly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) obtained a landslide victory in the province by winning 37 general seats and increased their margin of victory from 2013. The PTI also won 8 out of 10 reserved seats while the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) won 1 reserved seat each.

Background

In the 2013 elections, the PTI emerged as the largest party in the province. The Pashtun nationalist and socialist Awami National Party (ANP) was reduced to only 1 seat because of allegations of corruption and poor leadership. In 2017, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) (JUI-F) announced to restore Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an electoral alliance of Islamist Parties. This alliance was created to reduce vote bank of the PTI. In May 2018, JI pulled out its support for the PTI-led provincial government just before the General Elections. They blamed the PTI for the fact that JI was asked for support in the elections for the

Chairman of the Senate The Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan ( ur, ), is the president-chair of the Senate of Pakistan.Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

, the chairman of the PTI, showed support for a merger of the

Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

(FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He also demanded to close the FATA Secretariat and also threatened to start a countrywide protest if FATA was not merged. The goal of merging FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was to ensure the function of Law enforcement authorities like the Judiciary and Police, Bureaucracy and other Provincial and Federal institutions like Health, Local Government, and Education may also function in the region like in the rest of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. JUI(F) strongly condemned this merger but many political parties including the people of

showed support for a future merger. In May 2018, FATA was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the approval of legislators in the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Provincial Assembly Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

and the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

. The seats for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the National Assembly were increased from 35 to 39 general seats and from 8 to 10 reserved seats for women due to the

2017 Census of Pakistan The 2017 Census of Pakistan was a detailed enumeration of the Pakistani population which began on 15 March 2017 and ended on 25 May 2017. It was the first census taken in the country in the 21st century, nineteen years after the previous one in ...

. After the merger of FATA with the province, its seats were further increased to 51.

Campaign

After the dissolution of the National Assembly and the Provincial Assembly, political parties started their election campaigns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) launched its campaign in

by contesting every seat except for NA-50 (South Waziristan-II).

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

, the chairman of the PTI, announced that he would be contesting from NA-35 (Bannu). The PTI also expelled 20 MPAs from the party for selling their votes in the Senate Elections, which increased their popularity. The PTI enjoyed massive crowds in their political rallies in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Mardan Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growing ...

, Swabi,

Charsadda Chārsadda ( ps, چارسده; ; ur, ; ) is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

, Swat, Bannu, Abbottabad and Haripur. Opinion surveys showed that the PTI would emerge highly successful in not only

, but also in

Hazara Division Hazara Division is an administrative division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located along the Indus River and comprises eight districts: Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Battagram, Upper Kohistan, Kolai-Palas, Lower ...

, which was considered as a strong hold of the PML(N).

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) started its campaign by contesting 47 seats in the province. Fazal-ur-Rehman, president of the MMA, contested from NA-38 (Dera Ismail Khan-I) and

NA-39 (Dera Ismail Khan-II) NA-45 (Dera Ismail Khan-II) () is a constituency for the National Assembly of Pakistan. The constituency was created in 2018 by bifurcating NA-25 (Dera Ismail Khan-cum-Tank) where Tank district shared its representation with a portion of Dera Isma ...

, while Siraj-ul Haq, leader of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Deputy Leader of the MMA, contested from

NA-7 (Lower Dir-II) NA-7 (Lower Dir-II) ()is a constituency for the National Assembly of Pakistan. It was created in 2018 by splitting NA-34 (Lower Dir) which contained most of Lower Dir District from 1977 to 2018. It contains Lal Qila Tehsil, Samarbagh Tehsil, Munda ...

. In NA-3 (Swat-II), the MMA announced its support for

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president of ...

, a candidate of the PML(N). The MMA held large political rallies in Malakand and

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)

The Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N)) contested 42 seats.

, leader of the PML(N), contested NA-3 (Swat-II) and Provincial President Amir Muqam contested NA-2 (Swat-I) and NA-29 (Peshawar-III). The PML(N) held rallies in

, Swat,

Mansehra Mansehra is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Mansehra District. It is the 71st largest city of Pakistan and 7th largest city in the province. The name of the city (written in Hindko, Urdu and Gojr ...

and Haripur.

Awami National Party

The Awami National Party (ANP), a Pashtun nationalist and

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

party, contested 41 Seats in the province under the leadership of

Asfandyar Wali Khan Asfandyar Wali Khan (Urdu and Pashto: اسفندیار ولی خان) (born 19 February 1949) is a Pakistani Pashtun politician who is the president of the Awami National Party (ANP). His father, Abdul Wali Khan, was the party's first presiden ...

. Khan Contested NA-24 (Charsadda-II) while other seniors leaders, such as Ghulam Ahmed Bilour and Haider Khan Hoti contested from NA-31 (Peshawar-V) and

NA-21 (Mardan-II) NA-22 Mardan-II () is a constituency for the National Assembly of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependenci ...

, respectively.

Other Political Parties

Other smaller and regional parties also launched their campaigns a well. Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, leader of the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), contested from NA-23 (Charsadda-I).

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Bilawal Bhutto Zardari ( ur, بلاول بھٹو زرداری; born 21 September 1988) is a Pakistani politician who is serving as the 37th Minister of Foreign Affairs, in office since 27 April 2022. He became the chairman of Pakistan Peop ...

, the chairman of the

Pakistan People’s Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

(PPP), contested from NA-8 (Malakand). For the first time, political parties started campaigns in the former Tribal Districts. The people living in these districts gave positive response to political workers and National Assembly candidates.

Results

By constituency

Notable Loses

Results from

surprised the country as many Party Leaders and famous politicians lost by huge margin. Fazal-ur-Rehman Leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam F and President of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal lost from both NA-38 and NA-39

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakistan ...

by 35,236 and 27,345 votes by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Candidates. Shebaz Sharif Leader of Pakistan Muslim League N lost from NA-3 Swat by 45,522 votes by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate. Bilawal Zardari Bhutto Leader of

Pakistan People's Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded i ...

lost from NA-8 Malakand by 37,697 votes by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate. Asfand Yar Wali Leader of Awami National Party and Grandson of

Abdul Ghaffar Khan Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...

lost from NA-24 Charsadda by 23,787 votes by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate. Ghulam Ahmed Bilour another prominent Leader of Awami National Party lost from NA-31 Peshawar by 45,449 votes by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate. Siraj ul Haq Leader of Jamat-e-Islami and deputy Leader of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal lost from the strong hold of NA-7 Lower Dir by 16,114 votes by Pakistan tehreek-e-Insaf Candidate. Amir Muqam President of Pakistan Muslim League N Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chapter lost from both NA-2 Swat and NA-29 Peshawar by 20,468 votes and stood 4th in NA-29

by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Candidates. Aftab Sherpao Leader of Qaumi Watan Party lost from NA-23 Charsadda by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Candidate and stood on 3rd Position.

Atif Khan Muhammad Atif Khan () is a Pakistani politician who was the Provincial Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Tourism, Culture, Sports, Archaeology and Youth Affairs, in office from 29 August 2018 till 26 January 2020. He had been a member of the ...

Provincial Minister of

and one of the leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lost from NA-21 Mardan by Awami National Party Candidate and former

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Haider Hoti by just 152 votes. Akram Durani former

and one of the leaders of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal lost from NA-35 Bannu by 7001 votes by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Leader

References

{{Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elections

Pakistani general elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2018 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa July 2018 events in Pakistan