Many days have passed since the announcement of the results of the recently concluded elections for the National Assembly of Pakistan, but the government has not been formed yet.
A political crisis has arisen in Pakistan due to no party getting absolute majority and a large number of independent candidates winning the elections.
The National Assembly Secretariat on Thursday announced the schedule for the election of the country’s new Prime Minister.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif is being considered a strong contender for the post of Prime Minister of Pakistan in view of the elections to be held on Sunday.
As per the scheduled schedule, candidates can submit their nomination forms till 2 pm on Saturday. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be completed on the same day.
It said that the process of electing the Prime Minister has been handed over to the newly elected MPs.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has nominated 72-year-old Shehbaz Sharif for the post of Prime Minister. While Omar Ayub Khan is the candidate of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-led PML-N has received the support of former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to lead the coalition government after the February 8 elections in the country.
302 newly elected MPs took oath
A total of 302 newly elected MPs took oath on Thursday in the inaugural session of the 16th National Assembly of Pakistan. A notification was issued by the National Assembly Secretariat.
Raja Pervez Ashraf, Chairman of the National Assembly or the lower house of the country’s Parliament, administered the oath to the newly elected MPs.
Ashraf said a total of 310 notifications of winning candidates from various constituencies and reserved seats in the 336-member House have been issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), while the remaining are still awaited, withheld or delayed.
After the swearing-in ceremony, the next step before the formation of the new government is the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, which will take place on March 01.
The National Assembly Secretariat said that the country’s Prime Minister will be elected on March 3 and the swearing-in ceremony of the new Prime Minister will also be held on the same day.
To elect the Prime Minister, a multi-party alliance has been formed consisting of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and some smaller parties.