Pakistan’s united opposition toppled Prime Minister Imran Khan in a no-confidence vote in Parliament early Sunday (April 10) after several political allies and a key party in his ruling coalition deserted him.
The vote was held past midnight after opposition parties brought a motion against him, following days of drama.
The opposition needed a minimum of 172 votes out of the 342 member assembly to oust him.
Khan is the first Pakistani prime minister to be ousted by a no-confidence motion in country’s history.
The vote was initially due to take place in parliament on April 3 but deputy speaker Qasim Suri blocked the motion and termed it “unconstitutional”, saying the no-confidence motion was “foreign interference” based on a document.
Khan’s government went on to dissolve parliament and called for a snap election to be held. The move enraged several opposition members who requested the Supreme Court to assess the situation.
On April 7, Pakistan’s top court ruled that the decision to stop the vote from going ahead was unconstitutional and restored the parliament and ordered that the no-confidence vote should go ahead again.
Following the ouster of Khan’s government, opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, who is expected to be chosen as the new prime minister, congratulated “Pakistani nation on a new dawn.”
Sharif is a long-time rival of Mr Khan and brother of former three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif deposed from office on corruption charges. If Sharif wins the vote, he would be able to hold power until October 2023, when the next election is due to be held.
Imran Khan has previously said he would not recognise an opposition government, claiming that there was a US-led conspiracy to remove him because he was pursuing an “independent foreign policy” and refusal to stand with Washington on issues against Russia and China.