Mushtaq Ghani and Mehmood Jan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were elected and sworn in as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly speaker and deputy speaker, respectively, on Wednesday. Ghani bagged 81 votes against Awami National Party’s Laiq Muhammad Khan, who secured 27 votes out of a total of 108 votes polled. Mehmood Jan received 78 votes while his opponent Jamshaid Khan Mohmand bagged 30 votes. A total of 109 votes were polled for deputy speaker out of which one was rejected. The House will elect the chief minister today (Thursday) through a division of house system. The PTI has nominated Mahmood Khan for the slot, while Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal’s Mian Nisar Gul will contest from the joint opposition. Newly elected MPA of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Nighat Orakzai could not cast her vote as she arrived late. Independent candidate from PK-25 Didar Khan also did not reach the house to poll his vote. Polling was conducted using the secret ballot system. Each member approached the booth and stamped their ballot paper. Earlier, the presiding officer administered the oath to those elected members who were absent on Monday. Published in Daily Times, August 16th 2018.