Shehbaz Sharif Elected as Pakistani Prime Minister Amidst Controversial Election

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has been elected the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the second time following a contentious election last month.

The South Asian country voted on February 8, in an election overshadowed by suspicions of widespread cheating and delayed results. On Sunday, the National Assembly, or lower house of parliament, met to pick the premier.

Shehbaz received 201 votes, defeating rival Omar Ayub Khan, who received 92 votes. Shehbaz is supported by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), a political group formed by legislators from former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party after the PTI was barred from contesting due to alleged election law violations.

Shehbaz, currently the PMLN president, had the backing of nearly 200 legislators in the 336-member house. The winner needed at least 169 votes.

Sharif served as Prime Minister until August of last year, when the National Assembly was dissolved to make room for a caretaker government entrusted with staging national elections. He is the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who founded the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) party, which is in alliance with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to form government.

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