ISLAMABAD: The Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, Ayaz Sadiq, has approved the nomination papers of the former premier Shehbaz Sharif and Sunni Ittehad Council’s Omar Ayub for the position of Prime Minister on Saturday.
The Speaker endorsed the nomination papers of both candidates for the Prime Minister’s Office after a thorough scrutiny of the nomination documents.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif is a joined candidate of the PPP, MQM-Pakistan and Balochistan Awami Party.
The National Assembly of Pakistan will vote for the new Prime Minister on Sunday at 11 am.
As per a press release from the National Assembly Secretariat Directorate General of Media, the nomination papers for MNA Mian Muhammad Shahbaz were proposed by MNAs Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Tariq Bashir Cheema, Rana Tanvir Hussain, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhary, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf Zaman, Attaullah Tarar, Abdul Aleem Khan, and seconded by MNAs Romina Khursheed Alam, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Laghari, Ahsan Iqbal, Kessoo Mal Kheel Das, Anusha Rahman Khan, Hanif Abbasi, Jamal Shah Kakar.
The nomination papers of Omar Ayub Khan for Prime Minister of Pakistan/Leader of the House were proposed by MNAs Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Asad Qaiser, Riaz Khan Fatyana, Umair Khan Niazi and seconded by MNAs Mohammad Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel, Ali Khan Jadoon, Mujahid Ali, and Malik Mohammad Amir Dogar.
In this electoral contest, a candidate must amass a minimum of 169 votes out of the 336 members of the national assembly to clinch victory. As per the election schedule issued by the National Assembly secretariat for the election of the new Prime Minister of Pakistan, the deadline for submitting the nomination papers for the Prime Minister’s office was 2:00 pm Saturday. After this, scrutiny of the nomination papers commenced at 3:00 pm today.
Candidates can receive nomination papers from the legislative branch of the National Assembly, allowing interested candidates to officially enter into the race.
This process sets the phase for closely watched polls as the nation eagerly awaits the results that will shape the leadership of the South Asian country for the next 5 years.
Shehbaz Sharif
Shehbaz Sharif is widely expected to be elected prime minister of the country. Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also served as Prime Minister in the past, following a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly. His family entered politics in the early 1980s. Shehbaz Sharif was elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1988, 1993 and 1996. He was elected as chief minister of Punjab for the first time in 1997. He also got elected as Chief Minister for a second term in 2008. Shehbaz Sharif was also re-elected as chief minister of the province of Punjab for a third term. In 2018, he was elected as a member of the lower house of the parliament and served as the opposition leader. Shehbaz Sharif was chosen as the president of the PML-N in 2017 after the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif by the Supreme Court in the Panama case.
Omar Ayub Khan
Omar Ayub Khan belongs to a political family and has served as a federal minister under different governments in Pakistan. His grandfather Ayub Khan was Pakistan’s first dictator who ruled Pakistan from 1958 to 1969. His father Gohar Ayub Khan also served as the speaker of the National Assembly in 1990. Omar Ayub himself was a member of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz before joining the PTI in 2018.
