Peshawar:
Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) managed to navigate a number of constitutional and legal obstacles to hold the election to the new chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), resulting in the victory for his candidate, Muhammad Sohail Afridi, Monday.
Afridi secured 90 votes in a one -sided competition marked with high drama, high logging and a complete boycott of opposition parties that had objected to the election process. As a result, the three opposition candidates could not receive any votes.
The vote was conducted because, despite their boycott, the opposition parties did not formally withdrew their nominated-Maulana Lutfur Rehman from Jamiat Disadvantaged disadvantage-e-Islam-Fazl (Jui-F), Sardar Shahjahan Yusuf from Pakistan Muslim’s (PML-N) (PML-N) and Arbab Zarak of Pakistan (PPP).
The election came in the wake of Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation. However, the PTI-led administration moved resolutely to ensure that the election continued despite the prevailing uncertainty.
Gandapur had submitted his resignation to KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on October 11. However, the governor, who referred to the receipt of two severance letters, called Gandapur on Wednesday to verify which one was authentic.
Monday’s assembly session was only called for the election. It began in the middle of high song from PTI members and supporters. After Gandapur approached the house, praise opposition leader Dr. Ibadullah Rose and argued that the governor had not yet accepted resignation.
Dr. Ibadullah claimed it was illegal to hold an election to a new chief minister, while the sitting minister of chief remained in office. “The procedure that is followed for this election is constitutional,” he declared, before leading opposition benches in a walkout.
As the opposition went out of the chamber, PTI legislators intensified their song, causing speaker Babar Saleem Swati to repeatedly call for order. Despite the upset, the speaker continued with the election. He read the rules, noted the four candidates and instructed the assembly bells to be called for five minutes to ensure the presence of all members.
Treasury legislators then gathered in lobby # 1, appointed to those who vote for PTI’s candidate, Sohail Afridi. When the vote was completed, the speaker announced the results – Afridi had secured 90 votes, while Rehman, Yusuf and Zarak had not received any.
After the announcement, PTI legislators rushed to congratulate the newly elected leader of parliament and sang victory slogans. Senior PTI leaders, including Salman Akram Raja, Junaid Akbar, Kamran Bangash, Taimur Jhagra, Mohammad Atif and Arbab Sher Ali, were present in the galleries during the session.
After the election, PTI filed a petition in Peshawar High Court (PHC), who sought immediate administration of oath for the newly elected minister of chief. The court postponed the hearing until Tuesday (today) for further procedures.
