Shehbaz Sharif set to be elected as Pakistan’s new Prime Minister on Sunday

Shehbaz Sharif, nominated by the Pakistan Muslim League (N) with support from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), is poised to be elected as Pakistan’s new Prime Minister on Sunday.

Omar Ayub Khan is the PM pick for jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The National Assembly Secretariat announced the poll schedule on Thursday to elect the head of the government, 18 days after the Election Commission announced the results of the February 8 polls.

None of the parties managed to win the 133 seats out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly, which is required to form a government.

Independent candidates, a majority backed by Khan’s PTI, won 93 seats, while the PML-N of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif won 75 seats. The PPP led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari came third with 54 seats, and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) secured 17 seats.

The PML-N and PPP decided to form a post-poll alliance to form the government, upsetting Imran Khan’s party’s prospects.

If elected, Shehbaz Sharif will become the Prime Minister of Pakistan for a second time. He had earlier become PM when Imran Khan’s government was ousted in April 2022 and served as prime minister for 16 months until August 2023 when fresh elections were announced.

Under the power-sharing deal, 68-year-old Asif Ali Zardari of the PPP will be the coalition’s candidate to become the President – an office he previously held from 2008 to 2013.

The PM candidates can submit their nomination papers by Saturday, 2 pm, and the scrutiny of the papers will be completed the same day.