Elections in Pakistan bring shocking results

Candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by jailed Imran Khan, who is currently serving more than a decade in prison, won a stunning victory in Thursday’s elections, defying the expectations of Nawaz Sharif, the three-time prime minister. minister, and his Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) to obtain an easy majority.

According to The Guardian, Imran Khan declared victory in an audiovisual message created using artificial intelligence and published on his social media account X, calling on his supporters to celebrate the victory, which was achieved despite what he called a crackdown on his party .

Nawaz Sharif has been seen to have the support of the Pakistani military, which has long been a mediator in the country’s political life and has a history of meddling in elections.

However, voters across the country seem to have come out in unprecedented numbers to support the PTI and a sitting Imran Khan. Given the scale of votes for PTI-backed candidates, according to sources, the military was unable to “manage” the results for Sharif as planned.

With more than three-fourths of the votes counted for 265 seats in the national assembly, PTI-backed candidates won over 90 seats, PML-N 69 and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) 52.

However, analysts agreed that without a simple majority, the PTI would have a difficult time forming a government. Due to the Election Commission’s decision, PTI candidates were not allowed to campaign under their party’s name or symbol and therefore had to be registered as independents.

Despite not leading in the polls, Sharif gave a “victory” speech on Friday night and invited other political parties to “join us to form a government.” It is understood that PTI was not included in this proposal. Sharif’s comments suggest that if an agreement can be reached, the next government will be formed as a coalition of PML-N, PPP and other smaller parties, but without PTI or Khan.

The same parties formed a coalition in 2020 and ousted Khan as prime minister two years later. They were in government for 16 months, when they were largely unpopular due to the country’s ongoing economic crisis.

PTI leaders hit back at Sharif, saying he had no right to claim victory or form a government. They pointed to widespread allegations of rigging in favor of PML-N candidates and said the true number of seats won by their party was much higher. In some constituencies, the counting of votes was delayed by more than 24 hours and in some cases was canceled overnight in favor of the PTI.

Two people were killed after protests against alleged rigging of seats broke out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, where police allegedly responded with violence and PTI supporters also took to the streets of Lahore. New rallies against alleged fraud are planned across the country.

In a statement, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron expressed concern about “significant delays in the reporting of results and allegations of irregularities in the vote counting process.”

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who was prime minister between 2017 and 2018, said he feared Sharif’s proposed coalition without including the PTI would only cause more discontent and instability in Pakistan at a time of severe economic crisis.

“The legitimacy of these elections is in serious doubt, so they will not have credibility in the eyes of the people,” Abbasi said. “The only way to gain legitimacy is to include Imran Khan. Any solution without Khan will be impossible. But the question is will it accept [военный] establishment?”

The leadership of Khan’s party came as a shock to many, notes The Guardian. He is hated by many in the military leadership after he fell out with senior generals and was ousted from power in 2022.

Since then, the military has waged a continuous attack on Khan and his PTI, making it clear that they will not tolerate his return to power. Within months, PTI leaders and workers were arrested and their candidates were banned from campaigning. On election day, the government suspended all mobile phone services, including internet access, in a move widely believed to be aimed at reducing PTI voter turnout.

Khan was arrested in August and last week he received three separate prison sentences that could keep him behind bars for more than a decade.

But his popularity has soared in recent months as voters grow increasingly disillusioned with the military’s brazen interference in politics.

While initial results favored PTI, allegations of discrepancies and fraud began to emerge on Thursday evening. Announcements of results began to slow and then stopped altogether. Election agents began saying they were unable to collect results, and then there was a report of a “technical error” in the vote count.

It was reported that television stations had been instructed to stop reporting the results. The suspension of mobile Internet access, justified by the need to ensure the security of polling stations, continued late into the night after voting ended.

It was reported that more votes were counted than voters registered in Nawaz Sharif’s constituency, while the officer overseeing the counting of votes was abruptly transferred on Friday morning, allegedly for medical reasons.