The Pakistan National Assembly is expected to elect the country’s 23rd prime minister on Monday after Imran Khan was expelled from office in a no-confidence vote in the house early Sunday morning.

Although Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif filed his nomination papers for the post on Sunday, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also did.

The National Assembly session, which was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. (local time), will instead begin at 2 p.m.

The National Assembly Secretariat released the order of the day for Monday, stating that the election of the prime minister is the only subject to be considered by the House under Article 91 of the Constitution, read with Rule 32 of the Rules of Business and Conduct of Business in the Assembly.

Sharif, the younger brother of disgraced three-time prime leader Nawaz Sharif, spearheaded a rainbow opposition alliance of socialist, liberal, and strongly religious groups that deposed Khan.

According to political experts, Sharif is a seasoned politician in his own right, having served as chief minister of Punjab province, the Sharif family’s power base, as well as president of the PML-N.

He has, however, been tied to bribery and corruption, which supporters claim stem from Khan’s political vendetta.

During the filing of paperwork, Qureshi and senior PML-N politician Ahsan Iqbal had a heated exchange as PTI leaders objected to Sharif’s candidacy.

The National Accountability Bureau detained Sharif and his son, Hamza Sharif, in January 2019 on suspicion of money laundering.

The opposition has 174 votes to remove Imran Khan. If they can do it again on Monday, Sharif will be Pakistan’s next prime minister.

Meanwhile, following the historic vote of no-confidence by the combined Opposition, the Cabinet division de-notified 52 members of the federal Cabinet on Sunday.

PTI divided on resignations

Meanwhile, the PTI is considering withdrawing its legislators from the National Assembly and initiating a campaign against the next administration. Khan presided over a meeting of his party’s central committee.

“Imran Khan has been advised by the core committee that we should resign from the assemblies.” We’ll begin with the National Assembly. If our objections to Shehbaz Sharif’s nomination papers are not accepted, we will submit our resignations tomorrow,” PTI leader and former minister Fawad Chaudhry told reporters after the party’s core committee meeting at Khan’s residence.

Meanwhile, according to insiders, Pakistani news channel Dawn reported that PTI leaders were divided on the issue, with some believing that all lawmakers of the party and its allies should resign immediately in order to bring the upcoming government, while others believed that the PTI and its allies should take opposition benches in order to resist any attempt to change election laws, particularly regarding the use of electronic voting machines and voting rights for overseas Pakistanis.

As the PTI core committee remained divided on whether to seek en masse resignations of its legislators, the party chairman convened a parliamentary party meeting at Parliament House on Monday at 12 noon to reach a final decision.

The outcome of the PTI parliamentary meeting will determine whether Qureshi will run for prime minister or quit along with other PTI and ally MNAs.

The winner would require 172 votes in the house of 342 to become the new Prime Minister.

Large protest rally

A large number of PTI supporters held a protest rally at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk against the ouster of Khan. Big gatherings were also reported from other parts of the Punjab province, including Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Vehari, Jhelum, and Gujrat districts. Islamabad and Karachi also witnessed major gatherings of PTI supporters.