Pakistan lawmakers elect first female speaker

Pakistan's new parliament has elected its first ever female speaker. The new speaker comes from the party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

After walking to the front of the chamber, Fehmida Mirza donned her black robe of office and took the oath from the outgoing speaker.

A businesswoman and medical doctor elected to parliament three times, Mirza won 249 of the 324 votes cast in a ballot in the National Assembly.

Her only challenger received 70 votes.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, or PPP, came out on top in the February 18th elections and is preparing to lead a new coalition government.

But her party has yet to resolve the problem over who should be the next prime minister.

Meanwhile, Bhutto's son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari arrived on Wednesday at Karachi international airport, and the PPP says he will announce the name of its prime minister candidate.

The party appointed Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as chairman after his mother died in a suicide bomb attack in December.

Analysts say a prime minister is likely to be elected next week.