ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s newly formed Parliament elected Mr Shehbaz Sharif on March 3 as prime minister for a second time, three weeks after uncertain national elections caused delays in the formation of a coalition government.
“Shehbaz Sharif is declared to have been elected the prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said, after announcing Mr Sharif had secured 201 votes, more than the required 169 votes in the House.
He beat Mr Omar Ayub Khan – the candidate backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan – who secured 92 votes. The declaration was met with loud protests from the Sunni Ittehad Council Party backed by Imran Khan. The lawmakers called for Khan’s release and shouted slogans alleging that Mr Sharif had come to power through electoral rigging.
The Feb 8 election was marred by a mobile Internet shutdown, arrests and violence in its build-up and unusually delayed results, leading to accusations that the vote was rigged.
Mr Sharif returned to the role he held until August 2023 when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the election and a caretaker government took over. No single party won a majority.
Mr Sharif, 72, is the younger brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who spearheaded their Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party’s election campaign.
Candidates backed by Khan gained the most seats, but the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party agreed to form a coalition government, which enabled Mr Shehbaz Sharif to be elected as prime minister as his brother stepped aside.
“No one has won a majority. It’s a split mandate. And it is the democratic way that if it’s a split mandate, then the like-minded parties may form a coalition government,” Mr Sharif told Parliament after being voted in on March 3.
In his previous term, Mr Sharif’s government was able to negotiate a critical International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal.
But the process was mired in challenges, and measures required by the agreement – which expires in April – have contributed to rising prices and added pressure on poor and middle-class households.
The new government will have to immediately start talks with the IMF for the next agreement to shore up the country’s economy while also dealing with the growing discontent over deepening poverty.
“Can a nuclear-capable Pakistan sustain its existence with the burden of debts? It will sustain if we collectively decide on a deep surgery and change the system. We have to bring reforms,” Mr Sharif told Parliament. REUTERS, AFP
