ISLAMABAD : Shahbaz Sharif has won an assembly seat in Punjab province, clearing the way for him to take over as chief minister of Punjab province.

Shahbaz Sharif is a top official of PML-N, which came second in a February election but won the most seats in Punjab, home to half the countrys 160 million people and the heartland of its political, military and industrial elite.

Shahbaz Sharif was not opposed in a by-election for a provincial assembly seat, due later this month, and has thus won it, an Election Commission official said on Tuesday.

“We have declared Shahbaz Sharif the winner unopposed and he can now take the oath as a member of the assembly any time,” said Kanwar Dilshad, Election Commission secretary.

The party has already said Shahbaz will be chief minister of Punjab, where half of National Assembly members are elected. He was chief minister in the 1990s and went into exile with his brother in 2000. Reuters, 2008

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