PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly is preparing to elect a new chief minister on Monday, October 13, with four candidates officially entering the race following approval of their nomination papers.
Among the contenders is Sohail Afridi, representing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He will be facing off against Maulana Lutfur Rehman of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F). From the opposition alliance, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has nominated Arbab Zark, while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is backing Sardar Shah Jehan.
The Awami National Party (ANP) has chosen to stay out of the electoral process entirely. Party spokesperson Engineer Ihsanullah announced that ANP will abstain from voting and will not align with any political bloc. He also rejected allegations of political bargaining, saying the party would not engage in “horse-trading.”
Resignation Controversy Clouds Leadership Transition
While preparations for the leadership vote are underway, a dispute has emerged over the resignation of the outgoing chief minister. Opposition members argue that unless Governor Faisal Karim Kundi formally accepts the resignation, the election process could face constitutional challenges.
Despite the controversy, the KP Assembly
session has been officially called for 10 AM on October 13, moving up from an earlier scheduled session set for October 20. According to a notification issued by the Assembly Secretariat, the sole agenda of the session is to elect the new Leader of the House. The election will be conducted through a show of hands during the special assembly sitting.
