Pakistan swears in new parliament as Imran Khan’s followers protest vote count
Pakistan swore in a new parliament on Thursday in a chaotic scene as allies of former Prime Minister Imran Khan protested what they claim was a rigged election.
ISLAMABAD — 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 is 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.
Ayab, 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.
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