Pakistan swears in new parliament amid chaotic scenes as Imran Khan’s followers protests vote count
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s National Assembly swore in newly elected members of parliament on Thursday in a chaotic scene as allies of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan shouted and protested what they claim was a rigged election.
Lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party repeatedly chanted “Vote-thief!” as Shehbaz Sharif, who’s expected to form the next government, entered the parliament with his brother Nawaz Sharif. Both men are former premiers.
Outgoing National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf administered the oath to incoming legislators at noon.
The parliament will elect a new prime minister on Sunday, with Shehbaz Sharif facing only one rival in the vote — senior leader Omar Ayub of Khan’s PTI.
Ayub, like other lawmakers backed by Khan — who was barred from running in the Feb. 8 election — joined the Sunni Ittehad Council to meet a legal requirement to sit in the legislature as PTI was barred from the ballot under its official name and its candidates had to contest the election as independents.
The house echoed with chants of “Long Live Sharif!” when the Sharif brothers signed the register after taking their oaths of office. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the young chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party and a key Sharif ally, was met with similar chants.
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