All eyes are on Punjab as lawmakers elect their next chief minister at 4pm today.
The election, which will be chaired by Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari, comes a mere three months after incumbent Hamza Shehbaz secured the office on April 16 after garnering 197 votes — including 25 from PTI dissident MPAs — in a gruelling process that was punctuated by delays and violence.
The dissidents’ votes, which were instrumental in putting Hamza in the top seat, began a saga that went from their losing their seats to a Supreme Court interpretation of Article 63-A that retroactively gutted their votes, setting the stage for another election for the provincial chief.