Pakistan did not have a clear majority in the election results and has two opposing political leaders, Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN) and Imran Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). We face uncertain times, with many claiming victory.
Complete results from Thursday's election were still not in late Saturday for nine of the 265 seats contested.
According to the latest tally posted on the Election Commission's website, independent candidates, mainly associated with jailed leader Khan's PTI, have a sizable lead of 102 seats. Meanwhile, Sharif's PMLN came in second with 73 seats, followed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) with 54 seats.
“This is probably the most controversial election in Pakistan's history,” Al Jazeera's Kamal Haider said in an interview from Islamabad.
He said PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan is confident that his party can win seats not only in Parliament but also in Punjab, where it claims to have a majority. They also won a landslide victory in the Khyber Pakhtankhwa province polls.
Meanwhile, PMLN's Sharif, who also claimed victory in the polls, said he would seek to form a coalition government. Mr. Zardari of the PPP also emphasized that it is impossible to form a federal government in the same way as in Punjab and Balochistan without the PPP party.
Al Jazeera's Abid Hussein reports that two days after voting ended, power is divided between the three major political factions, and it is little clear what will happen next.
“With such divisions, the big question is who will be able to form a government in Pakistan, a country of 241 million that has experienced two tumultuous years of political instability, an economy on the brink of default and a worsening domestic situation. It's a security challenge,'' Hussein said.
Pakistani analyst Zaigham Khan said there are two possible scenarios after the preliminary results are announced.
“The most likely scenario is a coalition government that includes all parties except the PTI,” Khan told Al Jazeera. This includes his two major political parties, the PPP and his PMLN, as well as the MQM, Jamaat-e-Islami, and others.
“The second scenario, which is less likely but technically possible, is for the PPP to join hands with the PTI to form a government,” the analyst said. PTI candidates who ran as independents won the most seats.
protests
Protests erupted across the country for the second day in a row as the nation still awaited final results, with demonstrators claiming that delays in the election results were allowing authorities to manipulate vote counting.
NetBlocks reported that social media platform X was disrupted nationwide during the poll. PTI criticized the suspension, calling it “utterly shameful”.
Election monitoring group Free and Fair Elections Network gave a generally positive review of the way the Pakistan Election Commission conducted the poll, saying delays in announcing results were “casting a shadow on an orderly election”. , said that questions have arisen about the validity of the results.
“Furthermore, the caretaker government’s suspension of mobile phone and internet service on election day, unrelated to security reasons, undermined Congress’ long-standing efforts to reform the election results management process.” the report added in its preliminary report.
Meanwhile, the US, UK and European Union expressed concern over Pakistan's electoral process, citing allegations of interference, including the arrest of party officials, adding that allegations of irregularities, interference and fraud should be thoroughly investigated. .
Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday that comments from “certain countries and organizations” ignored the “undeniable fact” that Pakistan was conducting elections peacefully and successfully while addressing security threats. He said he is doing so.
“Stable hands”
The head of the country's powerful military has issued his first public statement since the vote amid widespread discontent and anxiety among Pakistanis.
According to a military statement on Saturday, General Syed Asim Munir said: “Moving forward from a politics of anarchy and polarization will require a stable workforce and a healing touch, but progress for a population of 250 million people will not be possible.” It is not suitable for a country with such a strong culture.”
“Elections are not zero-sum competitions between winners and losers, but rather movements to determine the people's mandate,” Munir said in a statement.
“Political leaders and their staff should combine their efforts to govern and serve the people beyond self-interest; perhaps that is the only way to make democracy functional and purposeful.”
The military plays a dominant role in the country's politics and has directly ruled the country for more than 30 years since 1947.
Ayesha Siddiqa, a senior research fellow at King's College London, said the Pakistani military wants a weak coalition to be formed under the leadership of the PMLN.
“In a sense, this is the result we got,” Sidika told Al Jazeera. “But I would also argue that these are not the results they expected. They did their best to ensure low turnout, but people voted with passion.”
Siddiqa said the military is likely to support a coalition government that combines the PMLN and PPP, but it is still unclear whether Bhutto Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif or Nawaz Sharif will lead the coalition. Stated.
