Session commences after over an hour as elected lawmakers faced difficulties in entering assembly floor
A view of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly being readied for the provincial session to administer oaths to newly elected legislators, in Peshawar on February 15, 2024. — PPI
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly session summoned to administer oaths to the newly elected members has finally commenced after over an hour delay due to the ruckus caused by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers in the legislature, reported Geo News on Wednesday.
The session had to begin at 11am but was delayed as the elected lawmakers were facing difficulty in entering the Assembly hall as multiple Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers tried entering the floor and even threw “lota” and a shoe at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Sobia Shahid.
Furthermore, at least 350 policemen have been deployed outside the KP Assembly building as the Awami National Party had announced it would protest outside the legislature as the newly elected members take oath.
According to Geo News, internet services have also been suspended in the area surrounding the KP Assembly.
KP Assembly will be the third provincial legislature that will take oath after the February 8 general elections.
Last week, the assemblies in Punjab and Sindh were sworn in.
In today’s session Speaker Mushtaq Ghani is expected to administer oath to the new elected provincial legislators.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of Article 109 of the Constitution [..] the Governor of KP has been pleased to summon the provincial assembly to meet on February 28, 2024, at 11am […] for taking the oath of its members, election and oath of the speaker and deputy speaker,” read the official notification issued earlier this week for the session.
As many as 113 newly-elected members, who have been elected to the assembly on general seats, are likely to take oath today in the 145-member house which is likely to elect its chief minister in coming days. Out of the 145, 30 are reserved seats, of which 26 are allocated for women and four are for minorities, have not been notified as the matter is currently being heard by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Meanwhile, elections were postponed on two general seats owing to the deaths of candidates in the respective constituencies.
Following the February 8 polls, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed independent candidates, who have since joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), have emerged as the largest party with 90 seats and are in poll position to form the government in the province with Ali Amin Gandapur as its nominated candidate for the chief minister post.
Meanwhile, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has managed to secure seven seats, followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) five, and Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) four seats.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-Parliamentarians (PTI-P) and Awami National Party (ANP) have won two and one seats, respectively.
Despite efforts by the PML-N to garner support from other opposition parties including the PPP, ANP and the JUI-F to bring its own candidate for the chief minister slot, it is likely that the SIC (essentially PTI-backed candidates) would succeed in electing Gandapur as the province’s chief executive due to their majority in the House.
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