Shehbaz Sharif Elected as Pakistan's Prime Minister For Second Term

Pakistan held elections on February 8 amid allegations of vote manipulation and delayed results. On Sunday, the lower house of parliament met to elect the prime minister.

Digital Desk: Shehbaz Sharif has been elected prime minister for a second term by the legislators of Pakistan after a controversial election last month. 

Pakistan held elections on February 8 amid allegations of vote manipulation and delayed results. On Sunday, the lower house of parliament met to elect the prime minister. There were shouts and protests in parliament as legislators elected Pakistan's prime minister with 201 votes.

“Shehbaz Sharif is declared to have been elected the prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said, as quoted by Alzazeera.

The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), a political entity that legislators from former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party joined after the PTI was disqualified from running for office due to suspected election law violations. 

Shehbaz of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will lead a coalition government, with the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, serving as a crucial ally. This is despite the fact that the highest number of winners were independents backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by former prime minister Imran Khan, followed by the PPP and PML-N.

With 93 seats, the PTI emerged as the largest group, forcing it to run its candidates as independents after losing its electoral symbol. The party has started rallies in the streets against the purported rigging, claiming that its mandate was "stolen."