Bulletins 1200 17th August 2018

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly is all set to elect new prime minister today as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif contest the election for the top office.

Khan’s chances to become the 19th prime minister of the country have become almost certain after the opposition alliance fell apart after the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) decided to abstain from voting for the leader of the house.

A day earlier, the PPP decided in principle to stay away from today’s vote in the lower house of parliament after the PML-N’s refusal to change its candidate for the slot.

According to PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry, the party chief is in a comfortable position to clinch the coveted post by bagging over 180 votes.

Mr Khan has also summoned the party parliamentary party meeting at 2:00pm in the house to hold last-minute consultations with party leaders.

The party’s tally in the National Assembly is 152 which climbs to 183 after addition of its small coalition partners, including Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).

The PML-N has 82 members in the house, followed by the PPP with 53 lawmakers, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) 15 members, and the Awami National Party (ANP) one MNA.