Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and world celebrity Imran Khan Niazi has been elected the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar announced the name of the Leader of the House after vote count. Imran Khan Niazi secured 176 votes while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Shehbaz Sharif bagged 96 votes in the polling for the Leader of the House in in the 342-seat National Assembly on Friday.
Imran Khan needed a simple majority of 172 to take power. PTI lawmakers and its allies chanted slogans “Prime Minister Imran Khan, Prime Minister Imran Khan’ as soon as the Speaker announced the results. Members of PTI and its allied parties greeted victory of Imran Khan with thumping of desks when Speaker Asad Qaiser declared the result.
Pakistan People’s Party, who was part of joint opposition showing reservations on the candidature of Shehbaz Sharif, abstained from voting process. Attired in white Shalwar Qamiz, the skipper sat in the front row of seats in the lower house of the parliament. Imran Khan will take oath as Prime Minister on Saturday August 18.
The PTI, which emerged as the leading party in the July 25 general election, has 151 seats, and with the support of its allies, the total stands at 175 which was more than the required simple majority.