The central leader of Pakistan Muslim League (Q), senior politician and former speaker of Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi took oath as Chief Minister, Hamza Shehbaz lost the post of Chief Minister and now the new Speaker is going to be elected in Punjab Assembly.
Contrary to the opinions of most analysts, Tehreek-e-Insaf won the by-elections of Punjab, which has been heavily involved in the power struggle between the Muslim League (N) and other political parties including PTI. It gradually became apparent. Let’s examine all the facts.
By-election results
By-elections were held in 14 districts of the Punjab province on July 17 on 20 seats of the Legislative Assembly, after which the position of political parties in the provincial assembly was reversed as Tehreek-e-Insaf won 15 seats.
Muslim League (N) won 4 seats while one seat remained in the name of an independent candidate. It was the result of the by-elections of Punjab that turned the tide of politics in Punjab and the Chief Minister had to step down from his post.
Party position in Punjab Assembly
After the by-elections, the positions of PTI, PML-N, and other political parties in the Punjab Assembly became clear. PTI became the most important party in the province with the highest number of seats.
PTI initially had 163 members in the assembly, but after winning 15 more seats in the by-elections, the number of legislative members has gone up to 178, while its ally Q-League has 10 members.
Both the political parties have a heavy representation of 188 members in the provincial assembly. The PML-N had 164 members in the Punjab Assembly and after the by-elections, the number increased to 168.
People’s Party has 7 members in Punjab, while after adding 3 independent members and one member of Rahe-e-Haq Party, PML-N and its allies have a total of 179 seats in the provincial assembly.
Currently, Member of the Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Nisar seems indifferent and inactive from any kind of political activities in the provincial assembly. 2 members of PML-N had resigned in the House of 371 of Punjab Assembly.
Major decision of the Supreme Court
3 days ago today, the Supreme Court decided that Hamza Shahbaz can no longer work as the Chief Minister. Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi took oath at night, so Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi went to Governor’s House to take oath.
According to the decision of the Supreme Court on the night of July 26 this week, when Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi reached the Governor House, the entrance gate of the House was closed for guests and the Governor of Punjab excused himself from taking oath.
Parvez Elahi’s swearing-in
Pakistan’s history, full of amazing events based on political upheaval, also saw the night when Chaudhry Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi went to the President’s House overnight and took the oath of the Chief Minister and the President who took the oath was Dr. Arif Alvi.
Surprisingly, this swearing-in ceremony could not be broadcast live on the media, on which his ally political party, PTI, expressed indignation before nominating Parvez Elahi as the Chief Minister.
Former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry even said that those who caused Parvez Elahi’s swearing-in ceremony to not be broadcast live, will not remain in their positions in the near future. Action will be taken against them.
Candidate for Speaker
In principle, the former Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has left the Speaker’s seat for the Chief Minister’s seat and now Sabtain Khan has been nominated for the Speaker’s post by PTI and Q-League.
PML-N candidate Saif Ullok Khokhar has also entered the fray for the Speaker’s seat. During the Punjab Assembly session, the members will elect the new Speaker through a secret ballot.
Who will win?
The most important question is, on which crotch will the camel of power sit? So, in terms of the number games, the gap between PTI and Q-League looks heavy and Sabatin Khan is being declared the hot favorite as the speaker.
On the other hand, the voting process is going to be done through a secret ballot instead of a show of hands, so the personal likes and dislikes and preferences of the members of the assembly can also affect the election process.
