ISLAMABAD, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani parliament will elect the country's new prime minister on Friday in a special session, officials said on Thursday.
Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan and President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shehbaz Sharif are in the run for the slot.
PTI, or Justice Movement, emerged as the single largest party in the July 25 elections and its spokesman said the party had the required majority in the National Assembly or the lower house of the country's parliament, to get its candidate elected.
PTI's candidates for the office of the parliament speaker and deputy speaker were elected on Wednesday, defeating rivals of an alliance of three major parties.
The National Assembly's secretariat has approved nomination papers of Imran Khan and Shehbaz Sharif and there will be a one-to-one contest.
The special session of the National Assembly will start at 3:30 p.m. local time (1030 GMT) on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced that election of the president will be held on Sept. 4 when the incumbent President Mamnoon Hussain completes his five-year term.
Voting for the election will be held in the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies, which are the electoral college for the president's election.
According to the schedule issued by the ECP, nomination papers can be filed to the presiding officers in Islamabad and the four provinces on Aug. 27.
Scrutiny of the nomination papers will be conducted on Aug. 29, while candidature can be withdrawn by Aug. 30. The list of validated candidates will be published on the same day.
