Pakistan's Shehbaz Sharif to return as prime minister after controversial election

Recent national elections were marred by widespread allegations of rigging.

Shehbaz Sharif held the role of prime minister from April 2022 to August 2023, when parliament was dissolved ahead of the elections. Source: Getty / Anadolu

Key Points

• Shehbaz Sharif will return to Pakistan's prime ministership for a second term.
• Newly sworn-in politicians in Pakistan's National Assembly elected Sharif by 201 votes.
• It comes three weeks after national elections marred by widespread allegations of rigging.

Pakistan's newly formed parliament has elected Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister for a second time, presiding over a shaky alliance that has shut out followers of jailed opposition leader Imran Khan.

Newly sworn-in politicians in Pakistan's National Assembly elected Sharif by 201 votes on Sunday, three weeks after national elections marred by widespread allegations of rigging.

"Shehbaz Sharif has been declared to have been elected as prime minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan," said the newly appointed speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

Omar Ayub Khan stood against Sharif as the candidate of choice for MPs loyal to Khan, gaining 92 votes.

Shehbaz Sharif (right) is the younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif (centre). Source: Getty / Aamir Qureshi/AFP

Sharif, 72, is the younger brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who spearheaded the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party's election campaign.

Pakistan went to the polls on 8 February, with a mobile internet shutdown on election day, arrests and violence in its build-up, and unusually delayed results — leading to the rigging accusations.

Sharif returns to the role he held from April 2022 to August 2023, parliament was dissolved ahead of the elections and a caretaker government took over.

The vote in parliament, which first met on Thursday, took place amid tight security as candidates backed by former jailed premier Imran Khan protested against the result and called for his release.

The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) party backed by Khan alleges the national election was rigged against them and has called for an audit of the polls.

No single party won a majority.

Candidates backed by Khan gained the most seats but the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) agreed to form a coalition government, which enabled Shehbaz Sharif to be elected as prime minister as his brother stepped aside.

In his previous term, Sharif's government was able to negotiate a critical International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal but the process was mired in challenges.

Measures required by the agreement — which expires in April — have contributed to rising prices and added pressure on poor and middle-class households.

Candidates backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan gained the most seats at the election. Source: AAP

The new government will have to immediately start talks with the IMF for the next agreement to shore up the country's economy and deal with growing discontent over deepening poverty.

The government will also have to grapple with ongoing challenges from Khan's supporters.