Celebrations broke out in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday as Sohail Afridi, nominated by former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan, was elected as the new chief minister after securing 90 votes, as per the report.
The election took place despite strong objections from the opposition, which argued that the process was unconstitutional since the resignation of sitting Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had not yet been accepted. However, the assembly speaker ruled that the voting would proceed as scheduled.
The speaker informed the house that Gandapur had submitted his resignation to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on October 8 and again on October 11.
“Later, on the floor of the House, he stated that he had resigned from his seat,” the speaker said, warning opposition members that continued disruption could lead to their expulsion.
Ignoring the protests, opposition members staged a walkout, calling the election process illegal. Opposition Leader Ibadullah maintained that Gandapur was still the lawful chief minister until the governor formally accepted his resignation.
Within 15 minutes of the opposition walkout, 90 PTI lawmakers elected Sohail Afridi as the new chief minister, making it a swift and unprecedented transition.
In his maiden speech, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister-elect Sohail Afridi said, “First of all, I am a Pakistani and then a Pashtun.” He thanked PTI founder Imran Khan for his trust and said he came from a humble background, rising through hard work as a loyal party worker.
Afridi expressed gratitude to outgoing CM Ali Amin Gandapur and reaffirmed his commitment to serving the people.
He also criticized what he called a “London plan,” claiming it was designed to topple PTI’s democratically elected government. “In fact, the plan was to obliterate the PTI, but the orchestrators of the plan failed,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition Dr Ibadullah announced that they would challenge the election in court, calling it unconstitutional.
“We thought Gandapur’s resignation had been accepted, so our candidates submitted their nomination papers to contest the election,” he said, adding that a petition would be filed in court on Tuesday.