CM Punjab will not be elected today, says Secretary Punjab Assembly

Punjab Assembly (PA) was scheduled to elect the new leader of the house following Usman Buzdar’s resignation today. PA session was to begin at 11am but is yet to get underway.

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is the government’s candidate for the CM slot while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shehbaz is the joint Opposition’s candidate.

Talking to the media on Saturday, Punjab Assembly Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti said only the schedule would be issued in today’s assembly session and “there will be no [other] proceeding”.

To be elected as chief minister, a candidate will need at least 186 votes in the 371-member house.

The Punjab government had de-notified Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar after the acceptance of his resignation but in the same notification allowed him “to continue to hold office until his successor enters upon the office”.

Buzdar’s resignation was accepted by Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar on Friday, followed by an immediate summoning of the PA session for today in order to elect the new provincial chief.

Buzdar had presented his resignation to Prime Minister Imran Khan on March 28.