PTI Chief Imran Khan Elected Prime Minister Of Pakistan
The National Assembly has elected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson Imran Khan as the 22nd prime minister of Pakistan, more than two decades after the former captain of the Pakistan cricket team entered politics.
Imran, whose party swept the July 25 general election and commands the loyalty of a majority of lawmakers in the Lower House of Parliament, will take oath of office on Friday.
176 members of the National Assembly voted in favour of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson while his opponent, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif, received 96 votes.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the third largest party in the House that joined the PML-N and others in an opposition alliance, withdrew its support for Sharif’s candidacy as premier days before the election and abstained from voting. One member of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), which contested elections under the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) banner, also abstained from voting for either candidate.
‘PPP has the democratic right to abstain’
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told reporters that it was the democratic right of this party to abstain from voting in the prime minister election.
The PPP withdrew its support for Shehbaz Sharif on Friday and announced it would not be voting for any candidate.
‘Match isn’t over yet’
Imran Khan arrived at the Parliament House to chair a meeting of the PTI’s parliamentary committee. “The match isn’t over. Only one part of the dream has been complete” Khan said upon his arrival.
In response to a question on who the party would name as its nominee for chief minister Punjab, Khan said the announcement would be made after the parliamentary party meeting.
‘How can you score a century if the match is fixed’
Shehbaz Sharif chairing a meeting of his party’s parliamentary committee also made a cricket reference in regards to the PM election. “How can you score century if the match is fixed,” Sharif told reporters.
Numbers game
The PTI, which emerged as the leading party in the July 25 general election, appears to be in a comfortable position to elect its chairman as the next prime minister. A simple majority of votes from the total strength of the house is required for the election of prime minister.
After distribution of reserved seats for women and minorities, the PTI remains the majority party in the National Assembly, boasting a total of 151 seats. It commands the support of at least 175 lawmakers, more than 50% of the total 330 MNAs sworn in, and is expected to dominate the election if its lawmakers and all its allied parties vote for Khan.
The PTI has an overwhelming support from three members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q), seven of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), five of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), four of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), three lawmakers of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), and one member each from the Awami Muslim League (AML) and Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP).
On Wednesday, PTI leader Asad Qaiser received 176 votes in the election for the speaker of the National Assembly.
The PML-N is the second-largest party in the assembly, with 81 members to its name, followed by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), at 54.
Sharif, the PML-N president, lost some of his support as the PPP announced its decision to not vote for him in the prime minister’s election. It is, however, unclear if the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and Awami National Party (ANP) would continue to extend their support to him.
On the other hand, the Jamaat-e-Islami, which is part of the MMA, has announced that it will not vote in the election.
