Shahbaz Sharif elected as Pakistan's new PM

This photo released by Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID) shows newly-elected Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif (L) meeting with former Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari at the Parliament House in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan on March 3, 2024. Shahbaz Sharif, the joint candidate of an alliance led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was elected as the 24th prime minister of Pakistan in a polling held by the National Assembly or lower house of the parliament on Sunday, said the speaker of the house. (PID/Handout via Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Shahbaz Sharif, the joint candidate of an alliance led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was elected as the 24th prime minister of Pakistan in a polling held by the National Assembly or lower house of the parliament on Sunday, said the speaker of the house.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq announced that Sharif, president of PML-N, won the election by securing the lower house's 201 votes out of the total 293 votes cast in Sunday's polling.

Sharif's sole competitor Omar Ayub Khan, a joint candidate of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, secured 92 votes, said the speaker.

The speaker announced that Sharif had been declared as the prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

A total of 169 votes were required through division of the house election in the 336-member National Assembly. Sharif got votes from PML-N, Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and other allies.

Earlier on Friday, the members of the National Assembly elected Sadiq as speaker of the house and Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah as his deputy after the new house was formed following the country's general election held on Feb. 8, 2024.