Imran elected new Pakistan PM
PANDEMONIUM IN PARLIAMENT Oppn MPs shout slogans on alleged election rigging
Pakistani lawmakers on Friday endorsed Imran Khan as their next prime minister, ahead of a ceremony that will see the World Cup cricket hero sworn in as leader of the country.
Khan scraped together a simple majority in a confidence vote held in the lower house of Parliament, three weeks after an election tainted by claims of military meddling and ballot rigging.
“Imran Khan has secured 176 votes,” National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser said after the vote, which was broadcast live.
He had needed 172 votes for a majority. His only rival, Shehbaz Sharif of the PML-N, won 96 votes, Qaiser said, with some opposition parties including the third-largest Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) abstaining from the vote.
The result brought Khan one step closer to ending decades of rotating leadership between the PML-N and the PPP, punctuated by periods of military rule.
Khan, clad in a waistcoat and traditional white shalwar kameez, smiled broadly and could be seen wiping tears from his eyes while clutching prayer beads as the count was announced.
He had appeared relaxed before the vote, smiling and shaking hands with other parliamentarians, including Sharif.
Proceedings in the House were disrupted by opposition. Khan was unable to speak and later said in his speech he would take strict action against those who had indulged in corruption and had “looted the country”.
He pledged all the looted money taken out of Pakistan would be brought back to the country. He also said he had no political godfather
The former cricketer, who captained Pakistan to World Cup victory in 1992, won the July 25 election but fell short of an outright majority, forcing him to partner with smaller parties and independents in order to form a government.
The election was branded “Pakistan’s dirtiest”, after widespread claims through the campaign that the powerful military was trying to fix the playing field against the PML-N and in Khan’s favour.
Rival parties have alleged “blatant” vote-rigging, with several parliamentarians shouting protest slogans inside the assembly ahead of the vote. The army and Khan have denied the claims.
Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party campaigned on promises to end widespread graft while building an “Islamic welfare state”.
The party has already formed a government in its stronghold of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and an alliance with regional parties in the southwestern province of Balochistan.
It is expected to form a coalition government in powerful Punjab province, formerly a PML-N stronghold, in coming days. Sindh province remained in the hands of the PPP.
PTI candidates were also voted speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly this week, putting Khan in a strong position to carry forward his legislative agenda.
He will face myriad challenges including militant extremism, water shortages, and a booming population negating growth in the developing country, among others.
Most pressing will be a looming economic crisis, with speculation that Pakistan will have to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
He will also have to contend with the same issue as many of his predecessors: how to maintain a balance of power in civilmilitary relations.
ISLAMABAD: