ISLAMABAD: The contest for the Prime Minister’s (PM) slot is heating up, with former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Omar Ayub Khan from Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) competing for the position.
This Sunday, newly elected lawmakers of the South Asian country will participate in the voting, aiming to win the top executive post in the country.
In this electoral contest, a candidate must amass a minimum of 169 votes out of the 336-member 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 is until 2:00 pm Saturday. After this, scrutiny of the nomination papers will commence at 3:00 pm today.
Candidate can receive nomination papers from the legislation branch of the National Assembly, allowing interested candidates to officially enter into the race.
This process sets the phase for a 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 the 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 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.
