ISLAMABAD – Shehbaz Sharif and Omar Ayub have had their nomination papers approved for the upcoming elections for Prime Minister or Leader of the House in the National Assembly, scheduled for Sunday at 11am.
On Saturday, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) submitted nomination papers for Shehbaz and Ayub, respectively. The Mutahhida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have all thrown their support behind Shehbaz, ensuring his smooth election as Prime Minister once again.
Meanwhile, Ayub lacks the necessary numbers.
PML-N leaders Ishaq Dar, Hanif Abbasi, along with PPP leader Khursheed Shah, submitted the documents for Shehbaz. Seven MNAs proposed his nomination, and seven others seconded it. Several other MNAs also accompanied them to the NA secretary’s office.
On the other hand, the SIC submitted nomination papers for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ayub to the secretary of the lower house.
The National Assembly Secretariat issued the election schedule for the Prime Minister’s office on February 29, with the election slated for March 3. The deadline for submission of nomination papers ended at 2 pm on Saturday, while the scrutiny of nomination papers concluded at 3 pm.
In Friday’s session, both major parties, PPP and PML-N, easily elected their speaker and deputy speaker, while candidates backed by SIC and PTI faced defeat.
Following the Prime Minister’s election, the newly-elected lawmakers will proceed to elect a new head of state on March 9, signaling the end of PTI-backed President Arif Alvi’s tenure.
However, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose party holds eight seats in the National Assembly, raised objections to the polls, stating they would not vote for the president and prime minister.
