Cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan took oath as Pakistan’s new prime minister on Saturday, days after he defeated veteran politician Shahbaz Sharif in a one-sided election in the National Assembly.

The election for the top post became just a formality after the Pakistan Peoples Party led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with 54 seats abstained from voting following a rift over Sharif’s candidature.

Khan, 65, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, secured 176 votes while his only rival and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Sharif got 96 votes, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser announced.

A total of 172 votes in the 342-member lower house of Parliament are needed to form a government.