KARACHI – Pakistan’s ruling party candidate has been elected prime minister, three days after the Supreme Court forced former PM Yousuf Raza Gilani from office.
Raja Pervez Ashraf, who won 211 votes in the 342-seat house, was a last-minute choice after a judge ordered the arrest of the preferred candidate.
But he inherits a troubled relationship between the civilian government, the judiciary and the all-powerful army.
Gilani’s removal from office was seen as part of a long and bitter feud.
Observers say Pakistan can ill-afford its constitutional in-fighting – the country’s economy is in crisis, as are relations with the US, and militants are waging a violent insurgency in tribal areas near the Afghan border.
Raja Pervez Ashraf sported a broad smile as he crossed aisles to embrace members on the opposition benches.
He exchanged pleasantries with the chief of the JUI-F party, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, who withdrew from the contest minutes earlier, setting the stage for a two-way split in the house.
Many also predict another clash with the judiciary which wants a corruption case against President Zardari reopened in Switzerland, but which Ashraf is unlikely to pursue. How soon the showdown comes is anybody’s guess.
But if the judges put him on a long leash, Ashraf is likely to make a big push to improve the electricity situation in the country. This will not only wash away the stigma of his earlier failure, but may also win his party the next election.
Ashraf emerged as the likely next PM after high drama on Thursday which saw a judge issue a warrant for the arrest of the previous candidate, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, as he was filing his nomination papers.
He received 211 votes out of 342 from members of parliament. There was only one other candidate standing against him for the post. Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi from the PML-N party of opposition leader Nawaz Sharif received 89 votes.
General elections are due by early next year and correspondents say that Ashraf’s term is likely to be troubled and short.
As with many politicians in Pakistan, the new prime minister also faces controversy. He has been dogged by allegations of corruption relating to power projects when he was water and power minister. He denies the charges.
