Shehbaz Sharif elected Pakistan PM for second term amid ruckus in NA

Shehbaz Sharif has been elected the 24th Prime Minister of Pakistan with 201 votes on Sunday, which was 24 days after the ‘disputed general elections’.

To win the prime ministerial seat, 169 votes were needed. Following the tally, Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq declared Shehbaz’s victory with 201 votes opposed to his rival, PTI’s Omar Ayub, who received 92 votes.

Shehbaz secured the position of prime minister with backing from PML-N’s allies, including PPPP, MQM-P, PML-Q, BAP, and other groups, as no party won an outright majority in the assembly.

The incoming administration faces significant economic issues such as high inflation, unemployment, the existing IMF program, and the potential need for a new IMF loan to address the current account deficit, debt reorganization, establishing a new formula for resource allocation between the federal government and the provinces, the National Finance Commission (NFC), and the privatization of unprofitable state enterprises.

Additionally, leading a coalition government will be a test for the new prime minister. Right after Shehbaz was declared the new premier, PTI-SIC members gathered around the prime minister’s seat and began shouting slogans. The assembly resonated with cries of ‘Sher’ and ‘Chor’, and amidst this clamor, Prime Minister Shehbaz commenced his inaugural address.