Ex-cricket star chosen to lead Pakistan

ISLAMABAD — Cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan was chosen Friday as Pakistan’s next prime minister, elected on a promise to change a system rife with corruption and traditionally controlled by the country’s powerful landowners.

In the vote by lawmakers at the National Assembly, Khan secured 176 votes, defeating the opposition’s candidate, Shahbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League party, who got 96 votes.

Khan’s populist Tehrik-e-Insaf party won the most seats in the July 25 elections but fell short of securing a majority in the 342-seat house. He is to be sworn in as prime minister today.

Khan’s supporters celebrated across the country when Speaker Asad Qaiser announced Friday’s result.

In his first speech to lawmakers as premier, Khan dismissed allegations of election fraud and vowed to enforce “ruthless accountability” to combat corruption.

A graduate of Oxford University, Khan formed his party in 1996 in the eastern city of Lahore, vowing to forge a corruption-free “new Pakistan.”

He challenged the parties of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former President Asif Ali Zardari over the past two decades, but was not able to make a strong showing until 2013 when his became the third-largest party in the lower house of parliament.