Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Wasiq Abbasi has been elected as the deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly unopposed after no one from the opposition filed nomination papers.
The seat fell vacant after Dost Muhammad Mazari was removed from the post through a no-confidence motion submitted by the PTI yesterday.
Wasiq won the election after the opposition failed to submit its candidate Ali Haider Gilani's nomination papers before the deadline.
Following his victory, Wasiq thanked PTI Chairperson Imran Khan. “This election is not mine but for the narrative that Imran Khan created in the public… We chose the lawful way and defeated them despite all the violent and pressure tactics they used,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gilani said that the opposition has boycotted the elections as they are not "clean and transparent".
"We have strong objections regarding the election process... We have decided not to participate in the election of the deputy speaker,” he added.
Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Malik Saiful Malook Khokhar challenged the Friday’s election for the Punjab Assembly speaker in the Lahore High Court (LHC), claiming that it was held in an ‘illegal and unconstitutional manner’.
On Friday, Khokhar had lost the election to PTI’s Sibtain Khan.
In his petition, Khokhar stated that the election was held in violation of Article 226 of the Constitution as votes had not been cast through a secret ballot.
The seat fell vacant after Dost Muhammad Mazari was removed from the post through a no-confidence motion submitted by the PTI yesterday.
Wasiq won the election after the opposition failed to submit its candidate Ali Haider Gilani's nomination papers before the deadline.
Following his victory, Wasiq thanked PTI Chairperson Imran Khan. “This election is not mine but for the narrative that Imran Khan created in the public… We chose the lawful way and defeated them despite all the violent and pressure tactics they used,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gilani said that the opposition has boycotted the elections as they are not "clean and transparent".
"We have strong objections regarding the election process... We have decided not to participate in the election of the deputy speaker,” he added.
Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Malik Saiful Malook Khokhar challenged the Friday’s election for the Punjab Assembly speaker in the Lahore High Court (LHC), claiming that it was held in an ‘illegal and unconstitutional manner’.
On Friday, Khokhar had lost the election to PTI’s Sibtain Khan.
In his petition, Khokhar stated that the election was held in violation of Article 226 of the Constitution as votes had not been cast through a secret ballot.