ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has seen significant developments late into the night as Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Omar Ayub were elected as the party’s chairman and general secretary, respectively. This came after their opponents decided to withdraw their nominations.
Alongside these national positions, the regional presidents for the Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapters were also declared. Now, the only pending election is for the president of the Balochistan chapter.
For this post, Amin Khan Jogazai, Dawood Shah, and Munir Ahmed Baloch are set to compete in the elections scheduled for March 3.
PTI was preparing for intra-party elections on March 3, and many leaders had put forward their names as part of panels.
However, just two days before the planned elections, a majority of these leaders withdrew their nominations, according to PTI’s Federal Election Commissioner, Raoof Hasan, who spoke. With no opponents left for most of the seats, the commissioner had no option but to announce the unopposed candidates as winners.
A notice by Mr. Hasan highlighted that there was only one candidate each for the positions of chairman, secretary general, and the provincial presidents of Punjab, KP, and Sindh, implying that no voting would be required for these roles. Polling will only take place in Quetta for the President of the Balochistan panel.
The final result of the elections will be declared on March 3.
The final list, which Mr. Hasan signed off on, includes Yasmin Rashid, Ali Amin Gandapur, and Haleem Adil Sheikh as the elected presidents of PTI’s Punjab, KP, and Sindh chapters, respectively.
For the upcoming election on March 3, Mr. Gohar was the sole candidate for the chairman’s role. Mr. Ayub and his 15-member panel had also submitted their nominations for the general secretary position.
Dr. Rashid from Punjab, who is currently incarcerated, and Mr. Sheikh from Sindh were both recommended by Mr. Khan to lead the provincial chapters. The same applies to Dr. Baloch in Balochistan and Mr. Gandapur in KP.
While it was anticipated that the candidates backed by Mr. Khan would win, the rival panels had also submitted nominations to fulfill the Election Commission of Pakistan’s requirements and prevent any unopposed elections.
