Lara Villalón Istanbul

Istanbul

Updated Friday, February 9, 2024-20:45

Former Pakistani Prime Minister

Imran Khan

has demonstrated in this Thursday's elections that he remains the most popular leader in the country, after

winning the majority of votes

in the parliamentary elections. His followers came to vote despite the multiple

judicial and electoral obstacles

that weigh on the former cricket star. A few days before the elections, a court sentenced Khan to 10 and 14 years in prison, and disqualified him from politics for a decade.

His disbanded party, the

Pakistan Justice Movement

(PTI), was unable to present other party leaders as candidates due to obstacles from the electoral authority. Thus, dozens of PTI members were forced to

run in the elections as independent candidates

and won, according to preliminary results published by the electoral authority.

The PTI candidates won

92 seats

,

28 more seats than the second most voted and favorite party

at the polls, Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League.

None

of the parties has obtained

enough 133 seats

to govern with a simple majority. Nawaz Sharif expected to achieve an absolute majority in the vote, although members of his party have already indicated that

they do not rule out going to the PTI to form a coalition

or even

agree with other parties

to lead the new government. "I am sure we will form a government," announced Ishaq Dar, Sharif's aide.

The former prime minister and Muslim League leader returned to the country four months ago after self-imposed exile to avoid a prison sentence for corruption. Sharif was acquitted of all charges and campaigned with unusual normality. According to analysts, Sharif could have reached an agreement with the army, which concentrates a large part of the country's executive power in the shadows.

The

count

was marred by

multiple delays

that have kept the population in suspense for more than 24 hours. While the media issued conflicting reports on who had won the general election, the electoral authority announced that the delay was due to "internet problems."

The delay caused great distrust

among political parties, which warned of an attempt to rig the results. "The candidates supported by the PTI were in the lead from the beginning," the party told Al Jazeera broadcaster. "The declaration of results slowed down, then it stopped completely and it was like that for hours... Last night we were leading by a big margin. That's not the case now," he said.

A day after the vote,

the total turnout is still unknown

, which would help clarify the strong support for Imran Khan's PTI. At the moment it is not known if his followers came en masse to vote or the electoral surprise was due to the low support for the Sharif and Bhutto-Zardari parties, parties that have alternated power in Pakistan for decades.

The wait for the recount was not without incident. According to local newspaper

Dawn

, 30 PTI supporters were arrested for organizing a rally for their independent candidates in Islamabad. While Khan's lawyer and several party figures assured that assailants had shot at his armored car.

The voting process took place with difficulty, with

a long communications blackout for "security reasons

," according to the Ministry of the Interior. At least twelve people were killed in several attacks, mostly members of the security forces, whose responsibility has not yet been claimed. Acting Interior Minister Gohar Ejaz treated the incidents as "isolated" and assured that election day "remained under control."

The results do not show a clear government coalition. It will have to face multiple difficulties, from the economic crisis, the effects of natural disasters and growing insecurity in the streets due to attacks by different militant and terrorist groups.