Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party-backed candidate Ali Amin Gandapur was elected as the Chief Minister of the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday.
The newly elected speaker Babar Saleem Swati, who took oath on Thursday, presided over the Assembly session.
In the 106-member house, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidate Gandapur bagged 90 votes against his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) rival Dr Ibadullah Khan, who managed to secure only 16 votes.
Gandapur had the support of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) members, while Ibadullah had the support of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), an offshoot of Khan's PTI party.
The former federal minister decided to contest the top provincial post in an independent capacity after refusing to join the SIC the party which was joined by PTI-backed independent winners to claim their seats.
The PTI leader is named in multiple assault and corruption cases registered by police stations in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Gujranwala.
At least 25 cases are registered against him for his alleged involvement in the May 9 violence last year in which PTI workers vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander house), Mianwali air base, the ISI building in Faisalabad, and the Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
Gandapur served as the former federal minister for Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan during the PTI government at the Centre from October 2018 to April 2022.
Previously, he was a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly from 2013 to 2018 and served as provincial minister of revenue.
In his maiden speech after becoming the chief minister, Gandapur demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja over allegations of rigging in the February 8 parliamentary election.
