Sohail Afridi elected new KP CM securing 90 votes

PESHAWAR: Newly-elected CM Sohail Afridi addressing KP Assembly.

PESHAWAR  –  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) nominee Sohail Afridi on Monday elected as the new chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by securing 90 votes, while opposition parties boycotted the elec-tion, terming it unconstitutional.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly session was held yesterday for the election of the new CM, where Speaker Babar Saleem Swati announced Sohail Afridi’s victory as Leader of the House with 90 votes. 

Assembly Speaker Swati emphasised that the election was conducted in accordance with the constitu-tional schedule, stating, “The chief minister is the constitutional head of the province and must be elected as per the law.”

Opposition parties, however, refused to participate in the process. Leader of the Opposition Dr. Ibadullah, along with Maulana Lutfur Rehman and Akram Durrani of JUI-F, led a walkout from the as-sembly.

Ibadullah declared the election unconstitutional, insisting that he still recognizes Ali Amin Gandapur as the legitimate chief minister.

“The election of another Chief Minister while one is already in office is illegal. We cannot be part of this unconstitutional act,” he remarked before exiting the house.

Addressing the assembly, outgoing Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur congratulated Sohail Afridi, say-ing, “Our goal is peace and justice in the country.”

Earlier, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi raised objections to Gandapur’s resignation, stating that two versions of his resignation letters carried mismatched signatures.

The Governor asked Gandapur to appear at the Governor House on October 15 at 3 p.m. to verify the resignation in person as per constitutional procedure. However, despite the pending verification, the Assembly proceeded with the election for a new chief minister.

Meanwhile, the Peshawar High Court sought the opinion of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Ka-rim Kundi on a petition filed by PTI seeking the immediate oath-taking of newly-elected Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.

PTI filed the petition urging the court to ensure that Afridi is sworn in without delay, arguing that the province cannot be left without a functioning government.

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja appeared before the bench and told the court, “Sohail Afridi has been elected as the CM, and even a minute’s delay in his oath-taking is unjustified.”

He added that the governor was out of the province, and therefore, “the oath must still be adminis-tered as the province cannot remain without a government for two days.”

During the hearing, Chief Justice Syed Muhammad Attique Shah asked whether Governor Kundi had accepted the resignation of outgoing CM Ali Amin Gandapur.

Raja responded saying, “Gandapur submitted his resignation on October 11, but the governor did not approve it. However, the Constitution does not mention that governor’s approval is mandatory.”