The coalition candidate for the office of Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif from the PML-N, and the PTI nominee, Omar Ayub, submitted their nomination papers on Saturday. Leaders from coalition parties, including Khawaja Asif, Khurshid Shah, Attaullah Tarar, and Tariq Bashir Cheema, were present to submit Shehbaz’s papers. For the PTI, party leaders Asad Qaiser, Aamir Dogar, Ali Muhammad, and Barrister Gohar Khan attended to submit Ayub’s nomination papers. The Secretary-General of the National Assembly, Tahir Hussain, received the nomination papers for both candidates.
The scrutiny of these nomination papers will be completed by 3 pm today (Saturday).
The election process for the Prime Minister involves dividing members in the house. According to the Constitution, before voting begins for the Prime Minister’s slot, bells will ring for five minutes inside the Parliament House to inform every member to gather inside the chamber. Once the process begins, the doors will be locked, and no one will be allowed to enter or leave the hall until the PM’s election is concluded.
For instance, if there are two candidates, the speaker will announce that those voting for candidate A should go to lobby A, and those voting for candidate B should go to lobby B. If there are three candidates, there can be a lobby C as well. At the entrance of these lobbies, a member of the assembly secretariat staff will record the name of every National Assembly member in the register.
The entire process will be transparent, allowing people in the galleries to see who votes for whom. Political parties must vote collectively, and each member must vote for the candidate their party supports. According to section 91(4) of the constitution, the Prime Minister shall be elected by the votes of majority.
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