Ali Amin Gandapur takes oath as 22nd KP CM

F.P. Report

PESHAWAR: PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur on Saturday took oath as the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali administered the oath to the CM-elect at a ceremony held at the Governor’s House in Peshawar.

On Friday, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly elected Gandapur as the 22nd chief minister of the province.

The PTI leader comprehensively beat his rival candidate Ibadullah Khan from the PML-N by securing 90 votes against 16 votes received by Ibad.

Gandapur, who had served as a federal minister during the PTI government, had been nominated for the coveted slot by ex-PTI chairman Imran Khan, currently serving prison term at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

He had contested polls on a National Assembly seat (NA-44) and a provincial seat (PK-113) from Dera Ismail Khan.

The PTI leader was also among the party leaders who were sent to jail in the aftermath of the May 9 riots.

Addressing MPAs after winning the election on Friday, Gandapur straight away demanded resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja over “rigging” in general elections.

Gandapur, a PTI leader who contested the polls as an independent candidate from KP, promised to live up to the expectations of the PTI founder chairman Imran Khan.

Gandapur also highlighted the need for peace and security for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa people as one of his biggest challenges as the province’s chief executive. “We need to increase our revenue and give relief to the poor, not burden them,” he added.

The newly-elected chief minister set a one-week deadline to quash first information reports (FIRs) lacking evidence against PTI workers. “Be ready for punishment if the FIRs aren’t removed,” he added.

Gandapur decried the “injustice and cruelty” imposed on party leadership, including Imran Khan and party workers. “We need to change this precedent; today it happens with us, tomorrow it will happen with someone else. The nation will hold us accountable, and we will need to give answers,” he added.

On Thursday, the KP Assembly had elected Sunni Ittehad Council candidates Babar Saleem Swati as the speaker and Suraiya Bibi as the deputy speaker. Swati won the election against Ehsanullah Khan, the joint candidate of the PPP, ANP, PML-N, and the PTI-Parliamentarians.

In the 106-strong house, Mr Swati bagged 89 votes whereas Mr Khan got 17 votes. Suraiya Bibi, who won the election from Chitral on a general seat, defeated PTI-P’s Arbab Muhammad Waseem by securing 87 votes against her rival’s 19 votes. The session was boycotted by the JUI-F.