The election for the new chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be held on Monday (today) in the provincial assembly, with four candidates in the race for the province’s top slot.

Following the nomination of Suhail Afridi as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) candidate for chief minister, opposition parties have also become active.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has fielded Maulana Lutfur Rehman, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has nominated Arbab Zark, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has put forward Sardar Shah Jehan Yousaf.

The nomination papers of all four candidates — Suhail Afridi (PTI), Maulana Lutfur Rehman (JUI-F), Arbab Zark (PPP), and Sardar Shah Jehan Yousaf (PML-N) — have been accepted after scrutiny.

With PTI holding a clear majority in the provincial assembly, efforts are reportedly underway to have Suhail Afridi elected unopposed.

PTI’s provincial president, Junaid Akbar, has been leading negotiations with political parties in this regard.

A PTI delegation, led by Junaid Akbar, met with PML-N’s provincial president and federal minister Amir Muqam at his residence.

During the meeting, Junaid Akbar said the PTI leadership hoped to make consensus decisions as in the past and stressed that all political forces must work together to overcome the province’s challenges.

He added that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could not afford further political instability, urging support for Suhail Afridi’s unopposed election.

In response, Amir Muqam said consultations would be held with opposition parties in line with the democratic traditions and that a final decision would be made after discussions with the central leadership.

Later, Junaid Akbar and his delegation visited the Bacha Khan Markaz to meet Awami National Party (ANP) leaders and discussed the upcoming election.

ANP representatives said they supported democratic processes but would not become part of any unconstitutional or undemocratic move, adding that they would consult their central leadership before announcing a position.

With all candidates now cleared, political observers say the key question remains whether the opposition will unite behind a single contender or field separate candidates against the PTI nominee in Monday’s election.