August 17
Pakistani lawmakers have voted for Imran Khan as the new prime minister of Pakistan on Friday.
A simple majority in the vote, due to take place in the lower house of parliament on Friday afternoon, brought Khan to power ahead of a swearing-in ceremony set for Saturday.
Khan won the July 25 election, but did not have enough seats for an outright majority, forcing him to partner with smaller parties and independents in order to form a government.
His only challenger is Shahbaz Sharif, leader of the ousted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), who had called the elections rigged, but reached the Assembly today to prove his majority, but only lost despite having support of MMA.
The election was branded “Pakistan’s dirtiest”, after widespread claims in the months leading up to it that the powerful military was trying to fix the playing field against the PML-N and in Khan’s favour.
Rival parties have alleged “blatant” vote-rigging. The army and Khan have denied the claims.
Khan’s victory represents an end to decades of rotating leadership between the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), punctuated by periods of military rule.