After the parliamentary elections in Pakistan, it is becoming difficult to form a government. Former Prime Minister Sharif declared himself the winner of the election, although his conservative party apparently only came in second.
Nawaz Sharif claims to be the winner of this election. His supporters celebrate him at his party’s headquarters in Lahore. Firework rockets rise into the night sky. “I love you too,” he calls out to his supporters.
It’s about giving Pakistan stability now. The country needs ten stable years to get back on its feet. “The PML has become the largest party. It is our duty to save our country and lead it out of the crisis.”
And the 74-year-old already knows how this can work: “Today we have the mandate. It is important that all other parties sit together, form a government and free Pakistan from its difficulties.”
So he wants to form a coalition government, or rather he has to form it. Because his party is probably not the strongest. His conservative Muslim League is most likely only in second place.
Advertising for ex-foreign minister as coalition partner
Nawaz Sharif has already named the most important coalition partner: the Pakistan People’s Party of former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. But there is someone else in the lead: Imran Khan. More precisely: his party’s candidates. The former cricket star, who was prime minister until two years ago, has been in prison since last August.
Shortly before the elections he received three long prison sentences. Party leaders complained that the courts and the electoral commission were systematically putting obstacles in the way of his justice party PTI.
The PTI candidates had to contest as independents, which reduced their chances. Nevertheless, the PTI is ahead in terms of votes. The day after the election, Khan’s supporters expressed optimism that his people would win – even if they fear voter fraud.
I almost believed that there was a conspiracy against Imran Khan. That some parties will use force to take victory and it is already clear who will win this election. But so far it doesn’t look like that. I just saw the news. The independent candidates, i.e. the Khan people, won. So it was a fair choice.
report about Election fraud
Fair elections? Many people doubt that. Because it wasn’t just Khan who was deprived of opportunities in advance. There are also reports of election fraud. The mere fact that the vote count took so long made many people skeptical – especially in Khan’s party PTI.
On election day, the mobile phone network was switched off across the country – apparently to avoid protests and prevent rumors from spreading on social networks.
Hardly anyone expected that Khan’s candidates received so many votes despite all the obstacles. But the election winners from Khan’s party could still lose out – if the conservative Nawaz Sharif now manages to form a coalition against Khan.
How do Khan’s supporters react?
During the election campaign, former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan People’s Party ruled out joining a government with Sharif as a junior partner. However, given the balance of votes, it is not unlikely that he will reconsider.
It is questionable how Imran Khan’s supporters will behave now – especially when they feel cheated out of the election victory. They had already taken to the streets once, last year, for their idol. There had been unrest – the worst the country had seen in a long time.
Peter Hornung, ARD New Delhi, tagesschau, February 9, 2024 6:42 p.m