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Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

Photo: Aamir Qureshi / AFP

In Pakistan, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has declared himself the winner of the election. He announced on Friday that his Muslim League had won the most seats in parliament and would begin exploring a coalition. Sharif left it unclear how many seats his party won.

The counting of the election results has not yet been completed. According to the most recently published interim results, the Muslim League has 61 seats. The parliament has a total of 265 mandates, so the government majority is at least 133 members.

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According to earlier information, the allies of imprisoned ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan were ahead in the counting and received the most seats.

Analysts had predicted there would be no clear winner, further exacerbating problems for a country recovering from an economic crisis while grappling with rising militant violence in a highly polarized political environment.

Militant attacks killed 28 people in Thursday's elections.

"The Pakistan Muslim League is the largest party in the country today after the elections, and it is our duty to lead the country out of the maelstrom," Sharif said at a press conference in the eastern city of Lahore.

"Whoever received the mandate, whether independents or parties, we respect the mandate they received," he said. "We invite you to sit down with us and help this wounded nation get back on its feet."

The 74-year-old Sharif, a three-time former prime minister, returned late last year from a four-year self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom after contesting the last election from a prison cell following a bribery conviction.

He was considered a leading candidate to lead the country after settling a long-standing feud with the powerful military.

mfh/Reuters