Pakistan’s election: Can the next government bring economic stability?

There will be no honeymoon period for winners of this week’s pivotal 2024 polls as economic challenges loom large.

Islamabad, Pakistan – It is often tempting to declare every election as the most significant in a country’s history. But when Pakistan goes to polls on Thursday – in what some critics warn may be the most unfree election to date – it is no hyperbole to say the stakes are enormously high.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan languishes in jail as the authorities crack down on his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, while previously imprisoned and exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is back to contest the vote alongside an array of other candidates from the left to the right.

However, the focus of this election is not only on addressing nearly two years of political instability but, crucially, on establishing a new, steadfast government that can stabilise an economy in crisis for Pakistan’s 241 million people.

Some 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, inflation has skyrocketed to more than 30 percent, and according to a poll released this week, about 70 percent of Pakistanis believe economic conditions are worsening.

Last June, Pakistan faced the imminent threat of default, with foreign reserves plummeting to $4.4bn – barely covering a month’s worth of imports – while the currency shed more than 50 percent of its value against the United States dollar.