Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced his victory in the elections and called for the formation of a coalition government (Reuters)

Preliminary and unofficial results of the general elections in Pakistan showed that independent candidates won the largest number of parliamentary seats, while the Muslim League Party, led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, came second, which called for the formation of a coalition government.

Loyalists of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is currently imprisoned, are still leading the results of the legislative elections with the completion of most of the counting process, but with limited progress over the two largest parties that dominate the political arena, which are Nawaz Sharif’s party and the People’s Party led by Bilawal Bhutto, the son of the former prime minister. The assassinated Benazir Bhutto.

Even if these results are confirmed, this does not mean that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, led by Khan, will be able to form a government.

If the three blocs fail to obtain an absolute majority, the winner must weave alliances, which means that all options remain open regarding the formation of this coalition. The Muslim League, led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, remains in the best position to do this.

Today, Friday, Nawaz Sharif announced his victory in the general elections, saying that his party had won the largest number of votes, and he would discuss the issue of forming a coalition government.

"We do not have the majority to form a government alone, so we call on other parties and winning candidates to work with us," Sharif said from his party's headquarters in Lahore.

Sharif did not disclose the number of seats won by his party, and vote counting is still underway for the last few seats out of the 265 seats contested in the elections.

The counting of votes in the elections that took place on Thursday is still ongoing (Anatolia)

In his first public speech in the city of Lahore (northeast) after the decisive elections that took place on Thursday, Sharif - who held the position three times - said that the only solution to the escalating political and economic crises in the country is for all political parties to join forces and form a unity government.

Sharif stressed that his country can no longer tolerate the policy of confrontation. “We are not in the mood to fight with anyone, and for this reason I propose to all parties to come together and get the country out of the dilemmas it faces.”

He said that he had instructed his brother, President of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Shehbaz Sharif), to contact various parties, including the Pakistan People's Party, which represents the center-left, in this regard, starting from Friday.

Sharif returned to Pakistan last October after 4 years in exile in London. Observers say he has the support of the army.

Most of the independents who won the elections are linked to Imran Khan’s party, which was banned from running in the elections (Reuters)

Associated with Imran Khan

Although the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, led by Imran Khan, was prevented from running in the elections, the latest official results showed that independents won 92 seats, most of them linked to Khan’s party, compared to 63 seats for Sharif’s party.

The Electoral Commission said that the Pakistan People's Party won 50 seats. These results include 225 of 266 districts.

The slow counting process exacerbates suspicions of possible manipulation of the results that is not in the interest of Imran Khan’s party.

The Election Commission spoke of “internet problems” to justify the slow process. Doubts about the credibility of the elections increased due to the authorities cutting off communications and mobile Internet service throughout polling day.

On Friday, Britain expressed "deep concern" about the course of the electoral process in Pakistan, and urged the authorities to "respect basic human rights."

The majority of seats won by candidates supported by Khan's party are in his stronghold of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where two of his supporters were killed and 24 injured in clashes on Friday evening.

Demonstrations were also recorded in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and in Quetta in Balochistan province.

The election campaign included accusations of "fraud before the elections" with the exclusion of Imran Khan. Khan was sentenced to three long prison sentences and his party was subjected to repression.

On Thursday, Pakistan witnessed elections to select 266 deputies, from among 5,121 candidates, and to select 593 deputies in the regional parliaments from among 12,695 candidates.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies