Pakistan’s former sports star turned politician, Imran Khan, was formally nominated as a candidate to become the country’s next prime minister by his party on Monday.
“A resolution nominating Imran Khan as our candidate for prime minister has been passed unanimously,” the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (Movement for Justice, or PTI) senior leader, Shah Qureshi, told the media after a party meeting.
The PTI is ahead of its rivals with 116 seats in the national assembly, having won 16.86 million votes in the July 25 elections, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Final results showed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif – now in jail for a corruption conviction – picking up 64 seats.
The Pakistan People’s Party of former president Asif Zardari won 43 seats.
The PTI needs to muster support from 137 of the National Assembly’s 272 members to form a government.
Almost all political parties except Khan’s have rejected the election results, as the process was marred by irregularities and allegations of manipulation at the hands of the country’s powerful military.
The vote for prime minister is expected to be a close contest as the PML-N and PPP have decided to field their own joint candidate.
However, Qureshi said that the PTI has the required votes to form a government, drawing on support from independents and coalition partners.
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