ISLAMABAD: Following the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister by the Supreme Court last week, the National Assembly will elect the country’s 18th prime minister on Tuesday (today).
Major political parties have already fielded their respective candidates for the premier slot.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has selected former petroleum minister and veteran politician Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as its candidate for prime minister.
The assembly’s second biggest party in terms of numbers, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has nominated Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah and Naveed Qamar, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has fielded Sheikh Rasheed as its nominee.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Jamaat-e-Islami have named Kishwar Zehra and Sahibzada Tariqullah respectively for the election of the new prime minister.
Although the PML-N holds a majority in the National Assembly and can easily elect its own candidate with just its members, the opposition intends to ‘put up a fight’. However, the opposition parties’ meeting on Monday failed to result in agreement over a joint candidate.
At present, there are three seats empty, including the one of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in the 342-seat Lower House of the Parliament.
It is likely that all of the remaining 339 members will take part in today’s voting process.
The winning candidate requires 172 votes to win, whereas sources said the PML-N candidate can easily bank on getting around 214 votes of PML-N MNAs as well as the government’s allies’.
The process
According to the Constitution and rules of the House, the speaker will announce the process for members to elect a new Leader of the House. For five minutes, bells will be rung in the lobby to let members gather inside the assembly hall.
The speaker will announce the name of every member one-by-one and in alphabetical order to receive his/her ballot paper. The members would mark the candidate of their choice with a tick on the ballot paper and put it in the ballot box.
If a member of the assembly impresses any other mark on the ballot paper other than the checkmark and/or ticked more than one name, did not impress the mark correctly or left the ballot paper unmarked, his or her vote will be rejected.
Upon completion of the voting process, bells will again be rung for two minutes so that members could again gather in the hall to listen to the result.
The speaker will announce the result and the successful candidate and those who contested the election would be given a chance to address the House.
Due to the vacant seat of Leader of the House, no other business can take place in the House except for the election process, according to assembly rules.
According to the Constitution, the process of the prime minister’s election would continue until a candidate achieves a clear majority: 172 votes.
After the premier’s election, the newly-elected Leader of the House will take oath of his office at the Presidency at a ceremony.
President Mamnoon Hussain will administer oath to the new prime minister.
Sources said, if all goes smoothly, the oath-taking ceremony is expected to take place around 7pm. Nawaz Sharif is also expected to be present at the ceremony.
Moreover, foreign ambassadors, senior judges, chief ministers, politicians, members of the armed forces and prominent members from various fields will observe the oath-taking.
