Governor Punjab administers oath to CM Punjab Hamza Shahbaz

LAHORE: Governor Punjab Baligur Rehman on Saturday administered oath to newly elected Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shahbaz, a day after he was elected despite having fewer votes being polled in his favour as compared to his rival candidate Parvez Elahi.

The oath-taking ceremony was held at Governor House and was attended by federal and provincial ministers and government officials.

CM Punjab election

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shehbaz was re-elected as the chief minister (CM) of Punjab after votes of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) were rejected by the Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker.

According to details, Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari – who chaired the session – ruled that the votes of PML-Q lawmakers will not be counted in the election of Punjab chief minister in the light of party head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s letter.

Pervaiz Elahi – joint candidate of PTI and PML-Q – received 186 votes, while Hamza Shahbaz got 179 votes. However. 10 votes of PML-Q were cancelled by Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, hence taking the figure to 176.

Raza Basharat counters Deputy Speaker’s ruling

Meanwhile, PTI Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Raja Basharat has countered the ruling of PA Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari, saying that the law states that the parliamentary party could issue instructions to party members.

He pointed out that the party chief was not authorized to give such instructions if the parliamentary party had decided to vote a certain candidate. He also read the order of the Supreme Court. “The head of the parliamentary party is Parvez Elahi,” he contended.

However, Mazari said that the matter had been clarified by the Supreme Court, subsequently proroguing the session.