Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan topped the results of the parliamentary elections in Pakistan (French)
The results of the Pakistani elections announced as of Saturday morning showed the lead of independent candidates supported by the Tehreek-e-Insaf, the party of former and currently imprisoned Prime Minister Imran Khan, while the Pakistani army commander called on the country to “break with the politics of chaos.”
According to the results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan for the distribution of representatives in 250 seats out of 266 in Parliament so far, candidates supported by Khan’s party came first in 98 seats.
The Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz Sharif's party came in second place with 71 seats, then the Pakistan People's Party led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, with 53 seats, while the United Qaumi Movement Party came in fourth place with 17 seats.
There remain 13 seats out of 266 seats whose results have not yet been decided.
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.
The results indicate that the winners may be forced to establish alliances to obtain the support of two-thirds of parliamentarians in order to form a government.
Fair demands
In turn, a senior aide to former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said - today, Saturday - that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party will seek to form the government after winning the largest number of seats in the general elections that took place on Thursday.
Gohar Ali Khan, the interim leader of the party, called on all institutions in the country to respect the mandate obtained by the party, and warned in a press conference in Islamabad of organizing a peaceful protest - tomorrow, Sunday - if the full results are not announced by Saturday evening.
On Saturday morning, the former prime minister's party published a video clip produced by artificial intelligence, in which he appeared declaring victory.
This video shows Khan saying, “I congratulate you all on winning the 2024 elections,” noting that “according to independent sources, we won 150 seats in the National Assembly before the manipulation (of the elections) began.”
On the other hand, Nawaz Sharif (74 years old), who served as prime minister three times, said from his party’s headquarters in Lahore (east), “We invite other parties and winning candidates to work with us.”
Sharif received the support of the army when he returned to Pakistan in October, after four years in exile in London.
Pakistani Army Commander General Asim Munir (Reuters)
Army invitations
For his part, Pakistani Army Commander General Asim Munir called on the country's politicians on Saturday to "break with the politics of chaos."
“Since the people of Pakistan have placed their trust in the Pakistani Constitution, all political parties must now do the same by demonstrating political maturity and unity,” a statement published on Saturday quoted the army chief as saying.
Assem congratulated the candidates for what he called successful behavior during the voting process, adding that the people need to get rid of the politics of chaos and polarization.
He added, "The nation needs safe hands to get out of the politics of chaos, polarization, and polarization that are not appropriate for a progressive country with a population of 250 million people."
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies