Imran Khan’s party, imprisoned, believes that the legislative elections were rigged to prevent it from obtaining a majority.
Lawmakers in Pakistan’s National Assembly on Sunday elected Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister for the second time as allies of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan in parliament shouted protests against his appointment, alleging fraud during last month’s elections.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said Shehbaz Sharif got 201 votes, beating Omar Ayub of the Sunni Ittehad Council who got 92 votes. The winner only needs 169 votes to obtain a majority.
Omar Ayub benefited from the support of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, whose candidates failed to obtain enough seats to form a government themselves. The PTI has refused to negotiate with its rivals to form a coalition.
After days of negotiations, Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League and its supporters formed an alliance after the February 8 elections whose results were announced with an unusual delay due to a nationwide cellphone outage . Authorities said the communications cutoff was necessary to prevent militant attacks on candidates and security forces.
However, the delay sparked criticism from Imran Khan’s party, which insists the vote was rigged to prevent him from securing a majority. The party claims to have proof that its victory “was stolen during the vote count”a charge the Electoral Commission denies.
Shehbaz Sharif, in his acceptance speech in Parliament on Sunday, said: “We have been victims of political victimization in the past, but we have never taken revenge.” Without naming Imran Khan, he said the former leader had jailed many political rivals, including himself and his ally Asif Ali Zardari.
He also accused Imran Khan’s supporters of attacking military installations after his ouster in 2022, adding that now Parliament and courts will decide whether those involved in attacking military installations deserved a pardon.
Holding portraits of Khan, his allies stood before Shehbaz Sharif when he began his speech, shouting “vote thief” And “shame”. The new prime minister denounced their actions, saying they were causing chaos in Parliament. He also said they should present their evidence of election fraud to the relevant authorities.
Shehbaz Sharif then addressed the opposition saying: “I offer you reconciliation. Let us sit down together to work for the betterment of Pakistan.” But he was met with more protests and shouting.
