PTI MPA Sohail Afridi on Monday was elected the new chief executive of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during an assembly session marred by the opposition’s walkout and despite uncertainty regarding the resignation of outgoing Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, who pushed ahead with the election despite the opposition walkout, announced that Afridi had won the election after securing 90 votes.
He had needed to secure at least 73 votes in the 145-strong KP Assembly to win the election.
Opposition decries ‘unconstitutional procedure’; speaker pushes ahead
During the session, Leader of the Opposition Dr Ibadullah held up a copy of the Constitution and said: “According to this Constitution, the procedure is that first your resignation is accepted. Then the administration denotifies the cabinet.”
He said the cabinet had not been denotified and Gandapur’s resignation had not been accepted by the governor.
“In the presence of an existing chief minister, the election of a new chief minister is unconstitutional. So we will not become a part of this unconstitutional procedure,“ he asserted.
He also questioned the need for making the issue controversial. “If you already have the numbers, then why not wait a few days and have it be done constitutionally?”
He reiterated that the process was “unconstitutional” and said that the opposition was staging a walkout as “it did not want to be a part of this”. He then proceeded to walk out along with other members of the opposition.
Following the walkout, KP Assembly Speaker Swati said that Gandapur had sent his resignation to the governor twice and also announced the same in his speech.
“The point raised by the opposition leader, I give a ruling of the speaker to make it clear what the Constitution says: this is unconstitutional and in contravention of the law,” he said.
Swati said that while some people wished for Afridi to not become the new chief minister, the Constitution did not function according to people’s wishes.
“The chief minister of a province is a constitutional office holder in terms of Article 130. Clause eight of this article provides for tendering of resignation by the chief minister under his hand … I rule that an election for the post of chief minister of KP is being lawfully conducted in accordance with the Constitution and the rules of the assembly,” he said.
Swati said that the chief minister’s election would take place according to the schedule issued for the today.
Gandapur gives ‘advance congratulations’ to Afridi
At the outset of the session, Gandapur gave his “advance congratulations” to Afridi, the PTI’s pick for his replacement, as the treasury benches thumped their desks.
He assured them that the PTI’s fight for justice would continue under the leadership of party founder Imran Khan. He expressed pride at the fact that he had submitted his resignation on October 8 on the directives of Imran.
He also called for allowing the democratic process to continue and to refrain from putting any obstacles in this regard. He further said that everything he had done as the provincial chief executive was a part of record and could be examined.
“A government can only succeed, a province can only succeed if it is self sustainable. Unfortunately, when our government came into power, we only had enough money for salaries for 18 months. But I am proudly saying right now that we have Rs280 million in the treasury,” he said.
He further said that his government provided more than what it allocated under the Annual Development Programme. He stated that under Imran’s vision, he had provided funds to all constituencies.
“In the end, I would like to say that we have a movement, a struggle and that struggle is not limited to Imran Khan. The sacrifice that he is making right now, he is doing it for the good of the nation. We stand with him and will continue to do so,” he said.
He also called for addressing the challenges the province was facing, saying that the law and order situation was more important than engaging in a war of words.
“We have to move forward and focus on these challenges,” he said.
KP governor returns Gandapur’s resignation over ‘disparate’ signature
The controversy around the resignation of Gandapur took another turn on Sunday night after Governor Faisal Karim Kundi returned two separate letters submitted by the former over “disparate signatures” and summoned him on October 15 (Wednesday) to settle the matter.
In a post on social media platform X late night on Sunday, Kundi said that the chief minister’s resignation had been “returned with observation”.
He also shared a letter addressed to Gandapur, wherein he stated that two resignation letters had been received by the Governor House on October 8 and October 11, both of which had “disparate and unalike signatures”.
“Since I am out of city, and intend to return to Peshawar on the ever of October 15, therefore, you are advised to visit Governor House on October 15 at 3pm so that the authenticity of the alleged resignations could be verified and the matter is settled as per the mandate of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gandapur responded to Kundi’s post on X and said: “Finally, the resignation submitted on October 8, previously denied by the Governor Office, also acknowledged.”
He further stated that both resignations submitted by him bore his “authentic signatures”.
Resignation row
On October 8, Gandapur said he had resigned from his role as the provincial chief executive, while the party’s general secretary, Salman Akram Raja, confirmed that party founder Imran Khan directed Sohail Afridi to assume the CM’s role.
The letter, shared by Gandapur on X, was typed on his official letterhead and signed at the bottom. However, this initial resignation letter had apparently gotten lost in red tape, with the Governor’s House denying having ever received it.
On October 11, Kundi had stated that the Governor House had received a handwritten resignation letter from Gandapur. “After thorough scrutiny and legal formalities as per the constitution [and] relevant laws, subject resignation will be processed in due course of time,” he had added.
A day earlier, a parliamentary delegation of PTI had met Kundi at his residence in Islamabad. The delegation included Asad Qaiser, Atif Khan, Junaid Akbar and others.
PTI representatives had sought support from the PPP to ensure democratic values during the election for the chief minister. They said the PPP had always claimed that it gave value to the democratic norms.
Kundi had stated that Gandapur’s resignation would be accepted as per constitutional requirements. He had also stressed the need for joint efforts to ensure peace and the public services in the province.
4 candidates in race for next CM
On Sunday, four candidates filed their nomination papers with the speaker of the provincial assembly for the election of the new chief minister scheduled for today.
Those who submitted nomination papers included PTI’s chief minister-designate Sohail Afridi, while Maulana Lutfur Rehman of JUI-F, Sardar Shah Jehan Yousaf of the PML-N, and Arbab Zarak Khan of the PPP represented the opposition parties in the KP Assembly.
KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati approved all the nomination papers after scrutiny.
A candidate needs to secure at least 73 votes in the 145-strong KP Assembly to win the CM election.
After filing his nomination papers, PTI’s nominee Sohail Afridi told reporters that democracy should prevail and that the Constitution provided a clear and smooth process for the election of the leader of the house. “No one should interfere in the process of electing the new chief minister,” he said.
Speaking to reporters at the assembly premises, Leader of the Opposition Dr Ibadullah expressed astonishment over the situation, saying, “How can there be two chief ministers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? The resignation tendered by the incumbent chief minister has not yet been approved by the governor, while PTI is proceeding to elect another chief minister.”
He added that a strange situation had emerged as the incumbent chief minister had not officially left office, the provincial cabinet was still intact, and yet an election was being held for another chief minister. “We are dealing with politically inexperienced people,” Dr Ibadullah remarked.
JUI-F parliamentary leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman said that PTI was holding the election for the leader of the house in haste.
“The governor can still return the resignation since it has not been approved yet,” he said, adding that he might be the joint candidate of the opposition alliance. He maintained that the governor was the constitutional head of the province and that PTI should have waited for formal approval of the resignation before proceeding. “It is inappropriate to hold an election for chief minister while the incumbent is still in office,” he said.
When asked whether the opposition intended to challenge today’s election in court, he said that anyone could approach the court to contest any unconstitutional act.
PTI KP Deputy Secretary Information Ikram Khatana also told Dawn that a delegation of the party leaders, led by its provincial president MNA Junaid Akbar Khan, visited the residences of JUI-F, ANP and PML-N leaders to seek their support for electing Sohail Afridi unopposed.
“The PTI also urged opposition leaders not to support any unconstitutional or illegal moves by invisible forces seeking to create hurdles in the election of the chief minister,” he said. According to Khatana, the ANP leadership assured PTI that it would not be part of any horse-trading or monetary influence in the election, while the PML-N and JUI-F leaders said they would convey PTI’s message to their central leadership.
