The provincial assembly of Punjab will elect its 20th Chief Minister on Sunday (today). Dera Ghazi Khan lawmaker Sardar Usman Ahmed Khan Buzdar, of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, will face Lahore lawmaker Hamza Shehbaz of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. The new Leader of the House will be elected through open ballot by division of the House into two lobbies. The numbers game is stacked against the PML-N, who has ruled the largest province of the country in the previous two terms. The PTI is the largest party in the House of 371 lawmakers with 175 members. Besides, it has support of 10 members from PML-Q. The PML-N is the second biggest party in the House with 163 MPAs. Accompanied by his supporters, Usman Buzdar, whose name was announced as PTI candidate late on Friday night, visited the Assembly on Saturday to submit his nomination papers. Talking to media persons on the occasion, he said he was a soldier of Prime Minister Imran Khan and vowed to prove his selection right through hard work. He said his top priority if elected to the office would be to steer the masses in southern districts out of the problems they faced. Buzdar said that all the promises made to the nation by Imran Khan would be fulfilled, including the creation of a South Punjab province. People needed to wait for just a little longer now, he said, adding, “The vision of Imran Khan will be implemented in the province. I’ll not contest elections again if I fail to deliver in Punjab.” Dismissing reports circulating in the media, the CM candidate said there were no criminal cases existing against him. A frequent sight during the talk was his fellow MPAs whispering talking points into Buzdar’s ears. When PM Imran Khan announced Buzdar’s name as his party’s candidate for the CM slot in Punjab on Friday, he said that he was the only politician who didn’t even have electricity at his house, perhaps making a point about the man’s simplicity, or about the neglect of the region he hailed from. The CM candidate did not come across as a simple person by any stretch of the popular imagination when he arrived at the Assembly premises in a brand new Toyota Fortuner SUV. Later, Buzdar said the vehicle belonged to an MNA from his area and he was using it temporarily. On Saturday, he also held a detailed meeting with PTI’s Governor-designate for Punjab, Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar. Separately, PTI leader Fawwad Chaudhry, named for the federal information ministry, also dismissed reports regarding criminal cases against Buzdar. He said there was no case against Buzdar pending inquiry in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) either. Also on Saturday, former provincial minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman filed the nomination papers on the behalf of Hamza Shehbaz. Speaking to the media, he said that several of the PTI lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly used to be with the PML- N in the past, adding that many of them were expected to vote for Hamza Shehbaz. Like it did in the National Assembly, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will abstain from voting in the Punjab Assembly as well. This was stated by PPP parliamentary leader Syed Hassan Murtaza. He said that all the seven MPAs of the party would abstain from the polling process although they would remain present in the House during the election. The PPP has already issued show-cause notice to its two MPAs who cast votes in the speaker’s election in violation of the party policy. Imran defends nomination of Buzdar as CM —A5 Published in Daily Times, August 19th 2018.