LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly has released the schedule for the election of the chief minister of the province, with the election set to take place on Monday. Nomination papers can be submitted until 5:00 pm today, with scrutiny scheduled to be held until 5:10 pm, followed by the issuance of the list of candidates.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has nominated Maryam Nawaz as its candidate for the chief minister’s office. Meanwhile, Rana Aftab Ahmed is the candidate of the Sunni Ittehad Council for the chief minister’s position.
The PML-N spokesperson, Marriyum Aurangzeb, mentioned that if elected, Maryam Nawaz will announce her vision for the province as the first woman chief minister of Punjab.
In a surprising move, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) replaced Mian Aslam Iqbal with Rana Aftab Ahmed Khan as its candidate for the chief minister’s office. The decision was made in light of the potential risk of Aslam Iqbal’s arrest, and the party leadership nominated Rana Aftab Ahmed as his replacement.
In a previous development, the Punjab Assembly elected Malik Ahmed Khan as the speaker and Malik Zaheer Ahmed Channer as the deputy speaker, both from the PML-N, after an extensive voting process.
Malik Ahmed secured 224 votes, while Channer secured 220 votes. The next session on Monday will focus on the election of the chief minister. The assembly session, initially delayed by protests, saw slogans exchanged between PML-N and Sunni Ittehad Council members. Police presence was reinforced to maintain law and order.
