Islamabad: Pakistan’s National Assembly swore in newly elected members on Thursday in a chaotic scene, as allies of jailed former Premier Imran Khan protested what they claim was a rigged election.
Lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party repeatedly chanted “Vote-thief!” as Shehbaz Sharif, who’s expected to form the government, entered the lower house of parliament with his brother Nawaz Sharif. Both men are former premiers.
Outgoing National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf administered the oath to incoming legislators at noon.
The house echoed with chants of “Long Live Sharif!” when the brothers signed the register after taking their oaths of office. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the young chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party and a key Sharif ally, was met with similar chants.
The new government will face challenges including a surge in militant attacks and shortages of energy; as well as an ailing economy that will force Pakistan to seek another bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Lawmakers from Khan’s PTI told reporters that they will continue their campaign against the rigging in the elections in and outside the parliament. “Yes, the election has been rigged,” said Gohar Ali Khan, the current head of PTI.
PTI has called for nationwide rallies on Saturday. The party claims its results were changed in dozens of constituencies to prevent it from winning a majority, a charge the Election Commission of Pakistan denies.
After the Feb. 8 elections, observers from the Commonwealth praised election officials for holding the vote despite multiple militant attacks, but the U.S. State Department said that the vote was held under restrictions of freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly. The European Union also criticized the inability of some political actors to contest the elections. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has fired back at such criticism, saying the vote was held in a free, fair and transparent manner.
Under a power-sharing formula, Sharif’s party will support Zardari in next month’s presidential elections.
