*ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has acquired the required number to get its chief Imran Khan elected as the next prime minister of the country.*
The PTI has reached a simple majority with 173 seats in the lower house of the parliament with the support of independent members and small coalition partners and is in a comfortable position to form the government.
Moreover, cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan’s party claims to have secured 157 seats in the Punjab Assembly to comfortably form the provincial government in the province.
Party insiders say the PTI chief has yet to finalise a person for the coveted post of the chief minister of the country’s biggest and politically important province.
They say he is likely to unveil the name of a nominee for the slot within the next 48 hours.
As per procedure, if a party has a clear majority or the magical number of 172 votes, it can easily elect the Leader of the House in the National Assembly.
The PTI emerged as the single largest party with 115 seats in the 2018 general elections but fell short of a clear majority in the 342-member house.
According to the Constitution, if the PTI chief manages to secure 172 or more votes in the first round, the president is bound to call him to take the oath as the country’s next prime minister.