ISLAMABAD: The polling process to elect a new National Assembly member from northwestern Pakistani city of Hangu, where a close contest is expected between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Awami National Party (ANP), came to an end Sunday evening. 

Hangu is located in Pakistan’s northwestern of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the PTI enjoys popular support. The NA-33 seat for the National Assembly fell vacant after PTI lawmaker Khial Zaman Orakzai passed away in February. 

Polling began at 8am and continue until 5pm in the constituency. The counting of votes was underway at polling stations across the constituency. 

The district police officer in the area, Ikramullah, said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had made adequate arrangements to ensure transparent polls in the city. 

“Over 0.314 million people are exercising their right to vote and five candidates are contesting in the by-election in NA-33,” stated a report on Geo News. 

ANP’s Saeed Umar, JUI-F’s Obaidullah and PTI’s Nadeem Khan are candidates of the three political parties who have remained highly active in the area. Apart from them, Atiq Ahmed and Muhammad Saeed are also competing as independent candidates. 

The electoral contest in Hangu is being closely monitored by analysts who want to gauge the popularity of different parties after weeks of political turmoil in the country that led to former prime minister Imran Khan’s ouster from the country’s top political office. 

Khan’s rivals believe his PTI party has lost its popularity while pointing to some of its losses in the previous by-elections, though the ex-PM has managed to pull massive crowds in recent days and held large political rallies in different Pakistani cities.