Natinal Assembly To Meet Today To Elect New Prime Minister

The National Assembly (NA) is scheduled to convene at 11 am today, undertaking the crucial task of electing the next prime minister. Shehbaz Sharif, the President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the unified candidate of an eight-party coalition, emerges as a formidable contender for the prime ministerial role, vying for the position for the second time. His main opponent is Omar Ayub Khan, the nominee of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Both candidates have successfully submitted their nomination papers to the National Assembly Secretariat. After scrutiny, overseen by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq in the presence of representatives from both parties, the nominations were deemed valid.

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An objection raised by Omar Ayub against Shehbaz Sharif, alleging manipulations in the acquisition of his National Assembly seat through Form-47, was dismissed by the Speaker. Ayub contended that Sharif’s loss of the constituency, as indicated in Form-45, should disqualify him from participating in the prime ministerial election. However, this objection was rejected.

Shehbaz Sharif has garnered support not only from the PML-N but also from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z), Islami Pakhtunkhwa Party (IPP), and the National Party (NP), amassing a total of 205 members. Two MNAs-elect from the MQM-P and PPP are yet to be sworn in. Shehbaz needs 169 votes from the 336-member house to secure the position of the leader of the house.