Pakisan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Amin Gandapur was elected chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Friday, despite PTI MPs and supporters causing a commotion in the provincial assembly.
In the 145-member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, PTI-backed independent candidates have 91 seats, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) has 9, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has 9, Pakistan People's Party has 5, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P) has 2, and Awami National Party has one.
Speaker Babar Saleem Swati's repeated appeals for order were mostly ignored by the heated attendance. The session began roughly an hour later than expected.
The speaker sent Gandapur supporters to Lobby 1 and Ibadullah supporters to Lobby 2.
The auditorium continued to reverberate with slogans in support of the PTI candidate. After the ballots were tabulated, the speaker stated that Gandapur had received 90 votes, while his opponent received just 16. The PTI's pick for CM was then appointed as the province's 20th chief minister.
Gandapur said that the PTI government will relaunch the province's development process.
He added that the Sehat Insaf Card will be reestablished for the benefit of the general population and that law and order were his government's first concerns.
"Bringing the province's far-flung districts up to par with the rest of the province in terms of development is my top priority," he said, adding that the backward areas will be rapidly developed to solve their deprivations.
"Let me assure you that we will establish long-term peace at any cost, as law and order are also our top priorities," he said, adding that the province will be made more appealing to international businesses.