<<Shujaat refuses to support Imran-backed CM candidate>>
<<Hamza Shahbaz elected Punjab CM after deputy speaker rejects 10 PML-Q votes>>
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Hamza Shahbaz has been elected as the Chief Minister of the Punjab province by securing majority of votes in the runoff election.
Hamza Shahbaz secured 179 votes whereas Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi – the Joint Candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) – bagged 176 votes.
Although 186 votes were cast in favor of Parvez Elahi. However, the Deputy Speaker refused to count the 10 votes cast by the Muslim League (Q) MPA citing Article 63 (1) (A) of the Constitution of Pakistan. Therefore, the parliamentary strength of the opposition alliance was reduced to 176.
Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari read out a letter written by PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain requesting the members of his party to vote for Hamza Shahbaz. Therefore, the Deputy Speaker said the lawmakers violated the order of Chaudhry Shujaat and rejected all the votes cast by the members of the Muslim League (Q).
At the beginning of the session, Raja Sagheer who was elected from PP-7 Rawalpindi’s constituency took oath in the house, after that PML-N leader Khalil Tahir Sindhu objected to the presence of PTI candidates Zain Qureshi and Shabbir Gujjar in the assembly and said that since Zain had not resigned from the membership of the National Assembly, he was not eligible to vote in the provincial assembly.
Meanwhile, the party added that since there was a case pending against Gujjar with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), he cannot cast his vote either.
However, PTI leader Raja Basharat, in Gujjar’s defence, said that the ECP had sent a notification in this regard and according to that, Gujjar is eligible to cast his vote.
While Deputy Speaker also rejected his objections and allowed both candidates to vote in the election.
Meanwhile, Former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said he won’t support the PTI chief Imran Khan-backed candidate for the CM slot.
A session of the Punjab Assembly for the election of Leader of the House is underway. Hamza Shehbaz and Parvez Elahi are in the run. Hamza is backed by a coalition government including PML-N, PPP, and JUI, while Parvez is the nominee of the PTI and PML-Q alliance.
The seasoned politician, Ch Shujaat, refused to back the PTI chief nominee for the slot of leader of the house. On the eve of the CM election, Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) leaders Ch Parvez Elahi and his son Moonis Elahi met former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain after the latter’s meeting with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
