ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan on Sunday said Hamza Shehbaz's election as the Punjab chief minister was in contrast with "all democratic norms and constitutional provisions."
Shehbaz, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker, was elected as the new chief minister on Saturday, during a chaotic session of the Punjab Assembly.
Legislators of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) assaulted Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, who was presiding over the session, and scuffled with PML-N provincial lawmakers.
Later, PML-N lawmakers assaulted Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, joint candidate of the PTI and the PML-Q for the post of chief minister, as he arrived at the assembly.
"What happened in Punjab Assembly was condemnable and against all democratic norms and constitutional provisions," Khan said on Twitter.
"No one was in the chair conducting the supposed elections — a total violation of all norms."
He said his party rejected the "sham" election.
The development comes hours after Punjab Governor Omar Sarfaraz Cheema, a member of Khan's PTI party, delayed Hamza Shehbaz's oath-taking, which was due to take place later today, Sunday.
“I cannot, while I hold a constitutional office, give my endorsement to an unconstitutional action,” he said at a press conference.
Cheema’s comments followed reports that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government in the center had removed him from the post of Punjab governor.
In response to reports of his dismissal, Cheema said it was not the prerogative of the prime minister and he could only send a summary to the president.
“Until the president does not notify it (the summary), I am holding this office,” Cheema said.
The political upheaval in Punjab, the most populous province of the country, has left the province without a chief minister since Usman Buzdar stepped down from the post last month.
Buzdar resigned after ex-PM Khan nominated Elahi, a leader of a key coalition party, as the new chief minister, in an attempt to garner PML-Q's support in a no-trust vote in parliament. Khan lost the vote on April 10.