Shahbaz or Ayub: Pakistan's Next Wazir-e-Azam to Emerge After 23 Days of Electoral Process
The session of Parliament started on Thursday, before the election of the new Prime Minister of Pakistan. All the newly elected MPs who won the general elections took the oath of office and secrecy.
Pakistan can get a new prime minister today, i.e., on Sunday, 23 days after the general elections. Two names are at the top of the race to become prime ministers. However, both are leaders of different parties. On one side is Shahbaz Sharif of the PML-N and PPP alliance, while on the other side is jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI candidate Omar Ayub Khan.
Voting for general elections took place in Pakistan on February 8. In the election results, no party got a clear majority, due to which there was a delay in the formation of the government. After much effort, an alliance was formed between former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), and efforts to form the government began. Today, it is being said that Pakistan will get a new prime minister.
How will the new Prime Minister of Pakistan be elected?
Actually, after the election results, the National Assembly Secretariat of Pakistan issues a notification for the election of the new Prime Minister. After this, a date is fixed for the election of the PM. After the notification is issued, the parties claiming to form the government and having the majority vote select their respective candidates, who nominate themselves for the post of PM. Then the new PM is elected through the voting of MPs in the National Assembly.
The National Assembly Secretariat of Pakistan issued the notification for the election of the new Prime Minister yesterday, i.e., on Thursday. According to this, the PM is to be elected on Sunday, while the last date for nomination for the post of PM has been kept till 2 pm on Saturday. The scrutiny of nomination papers will also be completed on Saturday itself. Then the next day, i.e., on Sunday, the new PM will be elected.
PML-N's Shahbaz and PTI's Omar Ayub Khan candidates
Shahbaz Sharif has been made the candidate by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) for the new Prime Minister of Pakistan. At the same time, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has fielded Omar Ayub Khan. Shahbaz Sharif has the support of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's party, the PPP, while many independents have expressed their support for Omar Ayub Khan.
Which party has which data?
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, i.e., the ECP, independent candidates supported by Imran Khan's party, PTI, have won more than 100 seats. Nawaz Sharif's PML-N has won 72 seats, while Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's PPP has won 54 seats. According to ECP, other parties have won 27 seats.
What is the majority figure to form the government?
In the 336-seat Pakistan National Assembly, 266 seats are elected directly, while 70 members are elected separately. Out of 70 seats, 60 seats are reserved for women, while 10 seats are reserved for the minority community. The mathematics of elections on these 70 seats is that according to the number of seats the party has in the direct elections, its members are elected on these 70 seats. According to the 266 seats for which direct elections are held, the support of 133 MPs should be there to form the government, whereas if we talk about the entire National Assembly, then the figure of 169 seats is necessary to form the government.
