Islamabad, 11 April (the Nation)- Pakistan elected Shehbaz Sharif to be the country’s 23rd prime minister on Monday, a day after incumbent Imran Khan was ousted by a vote of no confidence brought by opposition parties.

Mr Sharif received 174 votes from the house’s 342 MPs after days of political drama that saw Mr Khan, the former cricketer-turned-politician, removed just after midnight on Sunday.

Ahead of Monday’s vote, members of Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had resigned in protest and demanded a national election.

"We boycott this election according to the decision of our party, and we are resigning," said Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Mr Qureshi had been the PTI candidate to be the new leader and his name remained on the ballot, but after the boycott, he received no votes.

The PTI action followed a night of large protests across the country where tens of thousands of Mr Khan's supporters marched on Sunday evening in cities across the country, with big gatherings in Karachi and Lahore.