When the National Assembly meets today, the incumbent speaker, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, will administer oath to the lawmakers-elect. The house will be adjourned after this exercise.

On the second day, the election for the speaker and his deputy will be held before noon, and the pair will be administered oath the same day. On the third day of the session, parliamentarians will select a leader of the house, or prime minister.

Shehbaz Sharif is the joint candidate for the PM slot against PTI-backed Omar Ayub while Ayaz Sadiq will contest the speaker election against PTI-backed Amir Dogar.

PPP lawmaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah will vie for the deputy speaker slot as a joint candidate of the PML-N and the PPP. The PPP and PML-N reached a power-sharing deal last week after the former agreed to support Shehbaz Sharif for the PM seat in return for governorships and Senate chairman slot.

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