New Delhi: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, has been elected interim Prime Minister of Pakistan on tuesday. He secured 221 votes out of 341 seats in an election process that began in a secret ballot as per the Constitution.

This follows the ouster of Nawaz Sharif  after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office for life in the wake of corruption charges against him and his family members.

The three candidates fielded by the divided opposition collectively got 84 votes. Naveed Qamar of the Pakistan People's Party got 47 votes, while the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's nominee secured 33 votes and the Jamaat-e-Islami candidate four votes.

Mr. Abbasi is expected to hand over power to Shahbaz Sharif once the latter is elected to the National Assembly in six weeks. Mr. Shahbaz Sharif, who is the Chief Minister of Punjab, is the younger brother of Mr. Nawaz Sharif.