Imran, whose party swept the July 25 general election and commands the loyalty of a majority of lawmakers in the Lower House of Parliament, will take oath of office on Saturday.
176 members of the National Assembly voted in favour of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson while his opponent, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif, received 96 votes.
After the PM’s election, PML-N lawmakers resorted to chanting slogans of ‘respect the vote’. Women lawmakers of PML-N and PTI also chanted slogans in favour of their parties.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the third largest party in the House that joined the PML-N and others in an opposition alliance, withdrew its support for Sharif’s candidacy as premier days before the election and abstained from voting. One member of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), which contested elections under the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) banner, also abstained from voting for either candidate.