The newly-elected National Assembly will convene at 11am for the election of the coveted post of prime minister.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, who is the joint candidate of the eight-party alliance, looks poised to win the election for prime minister for the second time, as he faces PTI-nominated Omar Ayub Khan.

Both candidates submitted their nomination papers to the National Assembly Secretariat, which were declared valid by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq after the scrutiny, conducted in the presence of the leaders from both sides.

Omar Ayub had raised an objection against Shehbaz Sharif, saying the PML-N leader was ‘gifted’ his NA seat through manipulation in Form-47. He said the lawmaker could not contest the PM election because he had lost the constituency as per Form-45. He has been wrongly administered the oath as MNA and thus cannot be a candidate for the prime minister’s position, Mr Ayub said in a tweet. The objection was rejected.

Besides the PML-N, Shehbaz has the backing of the PPP, MQM-P, PML-Q, BAP, PML-Z, IPP, and the NP having a total of 205 members. Two MNAs-elect from the MQM-P and PPP have yet to take oath. In order to become the leader of the house, Shehbaz requires 169 votes in the 336-member house.

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