PESHAWAR – Following the conclusion of voting in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Ali Amin Gandapur, a leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who contested the recent elections as an independent candidate, was elected as the province’s new chief minister on Friday.
The polling to select the KP CM commenced earlier in the day, with Gandapur from PTI and Dr Ibadullah Khan from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) competing for the position.
PTI’s founder, Imran Khan, had endorsed Gandapur as the party’s candidate for the leader of the house in KP, making his victory highly probable given the party’s numerical strength.
علی امین گنڈاپور 90 ووٹوں کے ساتھ وزیراعلی خیبرپختونخوا منتخب!#خیبرپختونخوا_کپتان_کا pic.twitter.com/JgTdmLrGbk
— PTI (@PTIofficial) March 1, 2024
While Gandapur garnered support from the members of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Dr. Ibadullah received backing from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P).
Opting to run as an independent candidate, Gandapur declined to join the SIC, the party that PTI-backed independent winners affiliated with to secure their seats.
Previously, Gandapur held the position of federal minister for Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan during the PTI’s tenure at the Centre from October 2018 to April 2022. He also served as a member of the KP Assembly from 2013 to 2018 and held the portfolio of provincial minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for revenue.
Gandapur completed his BA Honours from Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan.
Yesterday, Babar Saleem Swati was elected as the speaker and Suraiya Bibi as the deputy speaker. With a majority of PTI-backed members in the house, the session proceeded calmly, though slogans in support of the PTI founder reverberated throughout.
Swati emerged victorious over Ehsanullah Khan, the joint candidate of the PPP, ANP, PML-N, and PTI-Parliamentarians, securing 89 out of 106 votes. Outgoing speaker Mushtaq Ghani administered the oath to Swati.
Subsequently, voting for the deputy speaker took place, resulting in Suraiya Bibi’s win over PTI-P’s Arbab Muhammad Waseem with 87 votes to 19.
