Hamza Shehbaz takes oath as Punjab CM

After drama unfolded in the provincial assembly, Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman administered the oath on Saturday to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Hamza Shehbaz who retained the position of chief minister.

The oath-taking ceremony was held at Governor House and several PML-N leaders and government officials took part in it.

In a shocking result on Friday, Hamza won the CM elections against PML-Q’s PTI-backed candidate Pervez Elahi, after Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari ruled that PML-Q members’ votes will not be counted as party chief Chaudhry Shujaat wrote a letter to him.

Election for Punjab CM puts further strain on democracy, fails to break impasse

Hamza received 179 votes whereas Elahi garnered 186 votes however, 10 votes of Elahi’s own party were not counted, which turned the tables in Hamza’s favour.

In the letter, Shujaat wrote “As party head of Pakistan Muslim League, I have issued directions to all my provincial members to cast their votes in favour of Muhammad Hamza Shehbaz Sharif.”

“As per this letter, according to the ruling of the Supreme Court, all the 10 votes cast by PML-Q leaders have been rejected,” Mazari ruled.

Elahi filed a petition in Supreme Court on Saturday morning, challenging Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari’s ruling.

Elahi moves SC against deputy speaker’s ruling

This is the second time that Hamza has defeated Elahi in CM elections. In April 2022, the Punjab Assembly elected PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz as Chief Minister.

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In that election, Hamza bagged 197 votes and his rival Pervez Elahi got just a single vote. Elahi’s party PML-Q and the erstwhile ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had boycotted the elections.

However, PTI’s Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan was present in the assembly despite his party’s boycott and voted for Pervez Elahi. Ahead of the vote, three PTI members of the Punjab Assembly were arrested for attacking Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari.

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On July 2, the Supreme Court ordered re-election for the office of the chief minister on July 22 after by-elections on 20 general seats are held.

Moreover, Hamza Shehbaz was allowed to continue as CM Punjab till the re-polls. Both Hamza and his opponent, Parvez Elahi, had lauded the chief justice of Pakistan for coming up with a consensus decision.