CM Punjab election: Pervaiz Elahi, PML-Q MPAs cast votes

LAHORE: Pervaiz Elahi among all Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has voted to elect the new Punjab chief minister (CM) in the provincial assembly session that began after a three-hour delay, ARY News reported on Friday.

According to ARY News, all 10 lawmakers of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid have cast their votes for Pervaiz Elahi – the joint candidate of PML-Q and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Earlier in the day, PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain refused to vote for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed candidate Pervaiz Elahi.

Sources told ARY News that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain excused himself from voting for Pervaiz Elahi, the joint candidate of PTI and PML-Q. It was learnt that Shujaat gave a clear message to Moonis Elahi.

Lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly (PA) are currently voting to elect the next chief minister of the province. The crucial session is being presided by Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari.

CM Punjab election

According to details, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has a clear majority in the Punjab Assembly, with Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi now most likely to replace Hamza Shahbaz Sharif as the new chief minister of the province.

During the by-elections in Punjab, the PTI grabbed 15 of the total 20 seats while PML-N won four seats and the remaining one seat went to an independent candidate.

Before the by-polls, the PTI and PML-Q had already attained the strength of 173 (163 of PTI and 10 of PML-Q). Now, with 15 additional seats, this strength has reached 188 whereas the figure of the simple majority stands at 186.

Meanwhile, the coalition government has 179 members – PML-N with 164 members, PPP with seven, three independents and one member of the Pakistan Rah-e-Haq party.