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Pakistani Lawmakers Elect Khan As Prime Minister


Imran Khan addresses the nation from his residence in Islamabad a day after the general elections on July 26.
Imran Khan addresses the nation from his residence in Islamabad a day after the general elections on July 26.

Pakistani lawmakers has voted to elect former cricket star and longtime politician Imran Khan as the country's next prime minister.

Khan won 176 votes, a majority of the 342 seats in the lower house of parliament, after his Tehrik-e Insaf party won the most seats in the July 25 general elections.

Khan will formally take office after a swearing-in ceremony scheduled for August 18.

Tehrik-e Insaf fell short of the 172 seats needed for an outright majority. But it has negotiated a coalition deal with several smaller parties and independent lawmakers in order to acquire backing from a total of 180 deputies.

Imran Khan's closest challenger was Shahbaz Sharif from former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

That former ruling party won only 92 seats in the July elections amid a corruption scandal and court ruling that led to Nawaz Sharif's resignation and his disqualification from holding public office.

With reporting by PTI, AP, and AFP

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