Opposition parties change CM candidate against Gandapur

PESHAWAR: Hours before the election, opposition parties in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly replaced their candidate for Chief Minister’s (CM) slot to face Ali Amin Gandapur, ARY News reported.

The assembly secretariat said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Hasham Inamullah Khan withdrew his nomination papers.

His party colleague Dr. Abdullah Khan would now be the opposition’s candidate for chief minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa election set to be held on Friday at 10 am in the provincial assembly.

Read More: Ali Amin Gandapur named Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM by PTI founder

The one-on-one contest would be held between Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) Ali Amin Gandapur and Dr. Abdullah Khan, the opposition’s nominee.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder named Ali Amin Gandapur is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa KP CM.

The former prime minister nominated Gandapur during an informal media talk at Adiala jail on February 13.

Read More: PTI’s Babar Saleem Swati takes oath as KP Assembly Speaker

Earlier in the day, Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) Babar Saleem Swati took oath as the speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

Outgoing Speaker Mushtaq Ghani administered him oath after SIC nominated candidate Babar Saleem Swati, an MPA from Mansehra, was elected as speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly.

Saleem Swati bagged 89 votes whereas Peoples Party’s Ihsan Ullah Khan managed to secure 17 votes.

Meanwhile, a woman member from Chitral Surayya Bibi of SIC was elected as deputy speaker. She bagged 87 votes against her opponent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamenterian’s Arbab Waseem who secured 19 votes.