Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s nominee for the slot of chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur has decided to contest the election of the provincial assembly independently due to a legal issue hindering him to use the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) platform.
The SIC is parliamentary alliance of the PTI for getting the reserved seats in the different assemblies as Imran Khan’s party rendered inoperative following a ruling of the Election Commission of Pakistan regarding its intra-party polls.
According to Gandapur, he would also be vying for the position of PTI’s provincial president in the upcoming intra-party elections scheduled for March 3 in accordance with the directives of Imran Khan.
His nomination papers have been submitted alongside those of Ali Asghar, another party member aiming for the position of provincial general secretary.
Contrastingly, Aqibullah Khan, the younger brother of senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser, nominated for the KP Assembly office, is set to contest as a candidate of the SIC.
Legally, if Gandapur contested elections from the SIC platform then he may not be able to contest the intra-party elections.
Amidst these developments, the chief minister-designate has been actively consulting and shortlisting names for the KP cabinet. However, the final announcement awaits approval from PTI’s founding chairman, Imran Khan.
The PTI is also deliberating on potential candidates for the deputy speaker position, with the chosen name expected to be revealed shortly.
On the opposition front, parties have decided not to concede ground to the PTI. A collective effort is underway to present candidates for the chief minister, speaker, and deputy speaker positions, with an official announcement anticipated after an opposition parties meeting.
