KP, Balochistan new MPs take oath today

The newly-elected members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan Assembly will take oath at their maiden sessions to be held today on Wednesday. 

The KP assembly will meet at 11:00 am and the independently-elected candidates who won the general elections with PTI’s support will dominate the provincial legislature.

In a 145-member House with 27 seats undecided for one reason or another, the PTI-supported candidates have a strength of 87 candidates, followed by JUI and PML-N’s nine , PPPP’s five, PTI-Parliamentarians two, ANP’s one and five other independents.

Newly-elected MPAs will take oath in today’s session after which schedule for electing speaker and deputy speaker of the house will be announced.

On the other hand, the Awami National Party (ANP) has announced to hold a protest demonstration outside the provincial assembly.

Nomination papers for the elections for the seats of speaker and deputy speaker can be filed today by 5:00 PM, and withdrawn by 11:00 PM. 

PTI announces countrywide protests on March 2

The PTI had yesterday finalized the name of Soraya Bibi as its candidate for the position of Deputy Speaker in the KP Assembly, but its choice for speakership has not yet come to the surface.

Ali Amin Gandapur, who is PTI’s nominee for the seat of chief minister, has not as yet joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), and will take oath as an independent and will contest the CM election as an independent.  

It seems that Ali Amin Gandapur if elected will be the first chief minister in any province who will be elected as an independent. 

Meanwhile the inaugural session of the newly-elected Balochistan Assembly will be held at 3pm. After the oath-taking, schedule will be announced for the election of speaker and deputy speaker of the provincial assembly.

Engineer Zamrak Achakzai will chair the session of the newly-elected assembly.

Balochistan Governor nominated Engineer Zamrak to chair the session after incumbent Speaker Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali was not available in Quetta.

Moreover, in case Engineer Zamrak fails to turn up, then former speaker Rahila Durrani will chair the session.