Enlarge image
Pakistanis after the election
Photo: Elke Scholiers / Getty Images
In Pakistan, the parliamentary elections have so far been without a clear winner. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the imprisoned former head of government Imran Khan declared themselves election winners on Friday. This means that the nuclear power, which is suffering from economic difficulties, is heading for troubled times.
Sharif said his Muslim League won the most seats in parliament. The 74-year-old announced that he would begin exploring a coalition. Shortly thereafter, his rival Khan claimed victory in the election. In a message distributed via the short message service X, he rejected his rival's claims. Khan called on his supporters to celebrate a victory achieved despite what he said was a crackdown on his party, PTI.
Allies of the imprisoned Khan win a majority of seats
After counting most of the constituencies, the Muslim League got 61 seats. Independent candidates allied with Sharif's jailed main rival Khan won 92 seats. Although they have more power than the Muslim League, as independents they cannot form their own government. Khan's party PTI was excluded from the election.
Sharif has served as Prime Minister of Pakistan three times. After some upheavals, he is now again seen as a favorite of the influential and powerful military. At the end of 2023, he returned from self-imposed exile in London and promised to rebuild the South Asian country's economy. The country is currently led by a caretaker government under a non-party prime minister.
The popular former cricketer Khan was sentenced to ten years in prison at the end of January for revealing state secrets. He previously received a three-year prison sentence in a corruption case. He has been in prison since August. In 2022, Khan was removed from office by a vote of no confidence in parliament. The 71-year-old accuses the military of being responsible for his downfall.
The USA, EU and Great Britain question the proper conduct of the parliamentary elections
The results of Thursday's election took an unusually long time to arrive. The election commission attributed this to internet problems. The government pointed out that mobile phone networks had been switched off as a security measure.
The USA, the EU and Great Britain have meanwhile expressed doubts about the proper conduct of the parliamentary elections in Pakistan. Both the US and the EU cited evidence of irregularities, arrests of activists and fraud on Friday. This needs to be investigated comprehensively. In a statement from the EU Commission it was said that there was no equal opportunity. Reference was made there to restrictions on freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and internet access. In addition, some politicians were not able to stand for election.
The US State Department spoke of unreasonable restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly. There were also attacks on press representatives. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron also expressed serious concerns. At the beginning of the week, the UN human rights office criticized the harassment, arrests and imprisonment of politicians.
eru/Reuters