Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has nominated textile industry minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin for the post of prime minister.
Mr. Zardari had been engaged in crisis talks with allies to select a consensus candidate to replace Yousuf Raza Gilani who was ousted by the Supreme Court earlier this week.
Shahabuddin will file his nomination papers later on Thursday. Another federal minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf, will serve as the alternate candidate.
President Zardari has already summoned lawmakers to meet Friday to elect the new prime minister. Because his ruling Pakistan People's Party and its coalition partners have a majority in parliament, Shahabuddin is likely to be elected.
On Tuesday, Pakistan's Supreme Court declared Mr. Gilani ineligible for office because of a prior conviction. The court found him guilty of contempt on April 26 after he refused its order to ask Swiss authorities to investigate claims of corruption against President Zardari.
In his ruling, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said that because Mr. Gilani had not appealed the conviction, he is disqualified as a member of parliament and no longer prime minister. Mr. Gilani's lawyer says his client will not fight the dismissal.
Pakistan's leading opposition PTI party described the court's decision as “a victory for justice” and called for new elections.
But political analyst Rasul Baksh Rais said that although the ruling was a bold stand by the judiciary in a country where politicians are rarely held accountable, the confrontation comes at a cost.
“Pakistan is in a constitutional limbo today and in a state of uncertainty and we don't know in which way Pakistan is going to move.”
Others caution that the crisis will not end with the appointment of a new prime minister if Mr. Zardari is not forced to answer to corruption allegations.
The political vacuum comes as the Pakistani government is being battered by accusations of corruption, violent protests against crippling power blackouts, militant attacks, and deteriorating relations with the United States.
The opposition PTI party said its leader Imran Khan and his followers will now take to the streets to force the government to meet their demand.
The chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Zohra Yousaf told VOA Wednesday that the country's democracy is weakened whenever an elected government is not allowed to complete its full term. She noted the instances in Pakistan's history when the military staged a coup after disagreeing with the civilian government. She said that this time, it is Pakistan's judiciary that has acted.
