QUETTA: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti has been elected as Chief Minister of Balochistan without contest as no other contenders submitted nomination papers.

Bugti, a former caretaker Interior Minister, submitted four nomination papers to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the role.

The election, originally scheduled for the following day, saw Bugti elected unopposed due to the absence of any other nominees. Both the PPP and PML-N had jointly nominated Bugti for the position, following a formula established for government formation at the federal level and coalition governance in Balochistan.

Having resigned from his caretaker ministerial role in December the previous year, Bugti joined the Bilawal Bhutto-led PPP. In a session chaired by presiding officer Engineer Zamrud Khan, newly elected members of the Balochistan Assembly, comprising 51 representatives from general seats, took their oaths of membership. These included lawmakers from PPP and PML-N, the leading parties in the 65-member House.

The assembly also includes 11 seats reserved for women and three for minorities, with PPP holding 11 seats and PML-N holding 10. Additionally, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) have 10 and five seats, respectively.