Lawmakers of the ruling Pakistan People's Party on Wednesday pledged the democratic process would continue 'without any disruption' after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's disqualification by the Supreme Court, as party leader Makhdoom Shahabuddin remained a front-runner for the post of premier.

A meeting of the PPP's parliamentary party "decided that the democratic process will continue without any disruption", said a statement issued by the party, as Pakistan's National Assembly was convened on Friday to elect a new prime minister.

The meeting, jointly chaired by co-chairman President Asif Ali Zardari and vice-chairman Gilani, discussed the 'current situation obtaining in the country after the Supreme Court's verdict'.

The lawmakers reposed full confidence in Zardari for "taking appropriate decisions, in consultation with the coalition partners, for ensuring continuity of democracy and democratic process in accordance with the Constitution".

The meeting also lauded Gilani for upholding the supremacy of parliament and the Constitution. In a related development, Zardari summoned a special session of the National Assembly or lower house of parliament at 5.30 pm on June 22 to elect the new Prime Minister.

The Speaker will scrutinise the papers at 3 pm on Thursday and candidates whose nominations are in order will be eligible to contest the poll. After the election on Friday, the majority candidate will emerge as the Prime Minister-elect.

After taking oath, the new premier will seek a vote of confidence from the House. The PPP's central executive committee and partners in the ruling coalition have already authorised Zardari to choose the candidate for the post of premier.

Though there was no official word from the PPP, party insiders told PTI that Makhdoom Shahabuddin, who held several portfolios in Gilani's cabinet since 2008, had emerged as a frontrunner for the post.

"It is 95 per cent certain that Shahabuddin will be the candidate for the post of Prime Minister. But one never knows with our party co-chairman (Zardari), who likes springing surprises," said a PPP leader who did not want to be named.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry disqualified Gilani in response to several petitions that had challenged Speaker Mirza's decision not to disqualify the premier following his conviction of contempt.

The apex court ruled that the post of premier had been vacant since April 26, when another seven-judge bench had convicted Gilani of contempt for refusing to reopen graft cases in Switzerland against Zardari.

Reports said Gilani had expressed reservations over the candidature of Shahabuddin during the meeting of the PPP and its allies last night. Both Gilani and Shahabuddin belong to the southern part of Punjab and political rivalries were believed to be the reason for Gilani's reservations.

Another strong contender is former Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, who was also tipped to become the premier after the PPP emerged the single largest party in the 2008 election. However, the top leadership of the PML-Q, a key ally of the PPP, is opposed to the candidature of Mukhtar due to political rivalries in Punjab.

PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was defeated by Mukhtar in Gujrat city in the last general election.

Speaker Fehmida Mirza will chair the session. The National Assembly Secretariat issued the schedule for the election of the new premier, according to which nomination papers will be accepted till 2 pm on Thursday.

PPP insiders said some party leaders had suggested the names of former ministers Hina Rabbani Khar, Khursheed Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira and Samina Ghurki for the post of premier. However, they do not enjoy support across the party's rank and file, sources said.

The PPP has plans to carve a new province out of the Seraiki belt in the southern part of Punjab and this is a reason for Shahabuddin's emergence as a strong candidate for the post of premier, sources said.

Reports said the main opposition PML-N had decided to nominate Sardar Mehtab Abbasi as its candidate for the post of premier.

However, the PML-N candidate is unlikely to receive enough votes in the 342-member National Assembly to win the election.