Haripur By-Election: Tight Contest Between Key Candidates

Haripur by-election is getting close, and the candidates have increased their efforts to convince voters.

Candidates now hold corner meetings, meet people individually, and visit homes. Their campaign activities continue all day in the district.

Many parties are competing. These include PML-N, an independent candidate backed by PTI, PPP, Hazara Qaumi Mahaz, Pakistan Ideological Party, and four other independent candidates. Two of these independents are women. This seat became vacant after the disqualification of former opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan.

Observers say the large and mostly rural constituency has turned into an interesting contest. PTI-backed candidate Shehrnaz Omar Ayub and PML-N candidate Babar Nawaz Khan are the main rivals.

PTI has already announced a rally in Chamba, a village near the Abbottabad border. The chief minister will address party workers there. Party sources also confirmed that senior PML-N leaders are expected to visit Haripur soon.

Shehrnaz Omar Ayub is contesting for the first time. She replaced her husband as the candidate, and he is leading her campaign even though he is wanted by Punjab Police after his conviction.

PML-N’s Babar Nawaz Khan is very active. He won the 2015 by-election and served as MNA until 2018. He has strong support from senior PML-N leaders, including Captain (R) Safdar Awan, Pir Sabir Shah, Sardar Mushtaq Khan, Dr Raja Amir Zaman, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Dr Shaista Jadoon, Shazia Jadoon, and Amna Sardar.

Captain (R) Safdar announced that the Punjab government will build a 100-bed hospital and a stadium in the village Pehdian. He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the Danish School, a women’s university, a bridge over Tarbela Lake, and job quotas for Haripur.

Observers say Haripur’s politics still runs on personal interests and patronage instead of ideology. Young voters criticize the limited job opportunities and the weak health system. The Tareen family continues to protect its political influence with Imran Khan’s popularity and large development projects.

On the other hand, Babar Nawaz and his supporters hope voters will support them to balance power. They claim that Babar Nawaz secured 70 billion rupees for gas and electricity projects from the federal government.

Two cousins of Omar Ayub, Arshad Ayub and Akbar Ayub, are the current MPAs from Haripur.

Haripur’s political history shows that no woman has ever won a direct seat in the provincial or national assembly, even though the literacy rate is 74.88%. Many women contested in different years but did not win.

Observers believe the contest between PML-N and the PTI-backed candidate has become very close. Both the federal and provincial governments are active to win the Haripur by-election.

The Haripur by-election has become a competitive and intense political battle, and voters will soon decide the future direction of the constituency.