PTI’s Alvi bags 45 votes in Balochistan Assembly

Joint opposition’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman gets 15, while PPP’s Aitzaz Ahsan did not get any vote

QUETTA: The presidential election was held peacefully without any uproar at the Balochistan Assembly on Tuesday.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) candidate Dr Arif Alvi emerged successful by securing the most votes, while joint opposition candidate Maulana Fazlur Rehman came in second. Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Aitzaz Ahsan did not receive a single vote.

Of the total 60 votes cast, 45 were in favour of Alvi and 15 of Rehman. One MPA, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader and former Balochistan chief minister Sanaullah Zehri did not cast his vote.



The polling process commenced at 10am with Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar performing her duty as the presiding officer.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s Abdul Wahid Siddique cast the first vote in the assembly, while Speaker Abdul Quddus Bizenjo was the last lawmaker to cast his vote.

Visiting Quetta last week, the PTI delegation, headed by Dr Alvi, succeeded in gaining the support of all major political parties of Balochistan, including the Balochistan Awami Party, the Jamhoori Watan Party, the Hazara Democratic Party and the Balochistan National Party-Awami.



Balochistan National Party-Mengal chief Mohammad Akhtar Mengal announced his support for the PTI’s candidate after the latter’s central leadership accepted the charter of demands presented by Mengal during a meeting in Islamabad.

Before BAP took over the reins of the province, the assembly sessions were frequently marred by uproar and ruckus by the MPAs of Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party.