ISLAMABAD, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Qasim Suri of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was elected as the deputy speaker of the National Assembly or the lower house of the country's parliament on Wednesday evening, said the speaker of the house.
Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser said that Suri received 183 votes against the 144 votes secured by Asad Mehmood, the joint candidate of an alliance led by three major political parties.
A total of 328 votes in the 342-member house were casted while one vote was rejected.
The election for deputy speaker of the house took place through secret ballot.
Speaker of the National Assembly administered the oath to the new deputy speaker.
The newly elected deputy speaker will run the house in the absence of the speaker.
Suri, who belongs to the southwest Balochistan province, is the provincial general secretary of the PTI and is considered as an active politician in the region.
Addressing the house after taking oath, Suri said he is honored to be elected for the post and promised to work for the welfare of the common man.
Earlier, Asad Qaiser of the PTI, who defeated his competitor Khursheed Shah, was elected as the speaker of the National Assembly.
By electing the speaker and the deputy speaker of the lower house, the basic structural process of the National Assembly has been completed. The house will elect the country's next prime minister on Friday.
The PTI's chairman Imran Khan is in a strong position to be elected as prime minister as his party has already proven its decisive strength by winning the two important posts in the parliament.
