PESHAWAR: The process for electing a new chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa begins today, following the resignation of former Ali Amin Gandapur. According to the Assembly Secretariat, candidates can submit their nomination papers until 3 pm today at the office of the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly.
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The scrutiny of nomination papers will be carried out under the supervision of the Speaker and completed by 4 PM, after which the final list of candidates will be released at 5 PM. Voting for the election of the new provincial chief will take place tomorrow.
Earlier, the schedule for the Chief Minister’s election was issued, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has been convened on October 13 (Monday) at 10 AM for the voting session. Secretary General of KP’s ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Salman Akram Raja confirmed that Gandapur’s resignation has been received by the Governor’s House and posted publicly by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.
Raja clarified that the governor’s approval is not required for the resignation to take effect; rather the chief minister only needs to inform the governor. He added that it is the governor’s constitutional duty to administer the oath to the newly elected chief minister, and if he is unable to do so, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice can nominate another official to perform the duty. The process, he noted, has now reached the stage where the new chief minister will be elected in the next session.
OPPOSITION’S CANDIDATE?
While Sohail Afridi is clearly the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) nominee for the position of Chief Minister, there is a possibility that the opposition in the provincial assembly will field a joint candidate to contest the election against him.
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According to sources, Maulana Lutfur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) is expected to be the opposition’s nominee. Opposition Leader Dr. Ibadullah is also likely to submit his nomination papers, the sources added.