LAHORE: The election process for the chief minister of Punjab has been concluded and the counting of votes is now underway amid a boycott by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) of the polls.

The session, which began with over a 30-minute delay, was being presided over by newly-elected Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan when the SIC lawmakers walked out of the assembly.

At the start of the session, Speaker Khan administered oath to two MPAs and then assured the lawmakers that he would run the House without any bias. 

The speaker then briefed the Assembly that after completing the scrutiny of the nomination papers, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz and SIC’s Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan had emerged as the candidates vying for the chief minister’s slot. 

Following this, the speaker directed the secretary of the Assembly to brief the members about the voting process. 

Once this was done, the SIC’s candidate for CM requested the speaker to address the House on a point of order but was barred from speaking. 

“In today’s session, only elections will be held for the chief minster. You cannot speak in today’s session,” Speaker Khan told the SIC candidate as he tried to speak up. 

After being barred from speaking the members of the Sunni Ittehad Council walked out of the House which led to a delay in the start of the elections.

As the SIC MPAs walked out, the speaker formed a committee, comprising  Khawaja Salman Rafique, Salman Nazeer, Samiullah and Khalil Tahir Sindhu, to convince the legislators to return to the Assembly. 

The speaker then also sent PPP’s Ali Haider Gilani and PML-Q’s Chaudhry Shafay Hussain to convince the SIC MPAs to return for last time.

While sending them the speaker warned that if the lawmakers do not return then he would move forward with the proceedings.

However, the efforts to bring back the SIC lawmakers went in vain as the lawmakers converted their walkout into a boycott of the elections. 

The speaker then went ahead with the proceedings and began the process of electing a new leader of the House. 

At first, the women lawmakers were invited to cast their votes. After they completed their votes, the male lawmakers have now started casting votes in the poll.

Each member that casts their vote is sent to the lobby and remains there till the completion of the voting process.

The number game

It seems PML-N candidate Maryam Nawaz is most likely to secure the office of CM as her party enjoys a majority in the provincial assembly after the February 8 general elections.

If successful in the elections, Maryam will be the first-ever female chief minister in Pakistan’s history. 

The PML-N currently has the backing of 224 MPAs in the provincial assembly.

Maryam’s opponent, SIC’s Rana Aftab Aftab Ahmad has the support of 103 MPAs. 

Aftab has served as a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA for three terms in the Punjab Assembly in 1988, 1993 and 2002. He joined the PTI in 2013 and is now serving his fourth term.

To win the CM’s election, a candidate needs to win the backing of the majority which is 187 members in the house that currently has 327 seats. 

Fourth Sharif family member to rule Punjab

Apart from becoming the first female chief minister in the country, Maryam will also become the fourth member of the Sharif family and first woman member of her family to get elected as CM if she wins the contest.

The PML-N senior vice president was elected on two seats of Lahore — NA 119 and PP-159 — later she withdrew from the National Assembly seat. 

In the PP-159 constituency, she contested against the PTI affiliated candidate Mehr Sharafat and won with a slim margin.

Overall, she is the sixth member of Sharif family who has been elected in a general or a by-election. 

Before her, Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Abbas Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz and Begum Kalsoom Nawaz were elected from Lahore.