Pakistan election: Can Imran Khan’s winning candidates form a government?
Al Jazeera
Pakistan is in limbo after a split verdict. But what options does Khan’s PTI have, after candidates won the most seats?
Islamabad, Pakistan — Five days after the elections on February 8, Pakistan is nowhere closer to knowing which parties are going to make its next government and who might be its next prime minister.
The elections delivered a split mandate amid a cloud of questions over the fairness of the climate in which they were held, allegations of serious manipulation, and challenges to the accuracy of the vote counts that dragged on for three days.
Leading with at least 96 seats are the candidates affiliated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who were forced to contest the election as independents, without their electoral symbol, the cricket bat.
They are followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) of three-time ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, which has won 75 seats and in theory, is the single-largest party in the National Assembly, even though the figure amounts to less than a third of the 266 seats that were up for grabs on February 8.
In third place is the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led by former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, which has secured 54 seats.
