The election outcome in Pakistan has produced a situation of uncertainty, creating a deadlock with no clear majority. The leaders of two opposing parties, Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN) and Imran Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), have both declared victory.
Nine out of the 265 parliamentary seats contest in Thursday’s election were still awaiting final results as of late Saturday. Independent candidates, mostly aligned with imprisoned leader Khan’s PTI, have secured 102 seats, putting them in the lead according to the latest count on the election commission’s website. PMLN is in second place with 73 seats, followed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) with 54.
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, remarked, “This is probably the most controversial election in Pakistan’s history.” Gohar Ali Khan, chairman of PTI, is confident that his party will secure a place in the national parliament and in Punjab, where they claim to have a majority. They also dominated the polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Meanwhile, Sharif of PMLN, who also claims victory, has stated his intention to form a coalition government. Zardari of PPP has emphasized that the formation of a federal government, as well as in Punjab and Balochistan provinces, cannot be achieved without his party’s support.
According to Al Jazeera’s Abid Hussain, two days after the polls, a divided mandate has emerged among the three major political powers, and there is little clarity about what comes next. “With such a split, the big question now rests on who will be able to form a government in Pakistan, a country of 241 million people which has suffered a turbulent two years with political instability, an economy on the verge of default and rising internal security challenges,” Hussain said.
Pakistani analyst Zaigham Khan has outlined two possible scenarios after the announcement of preliminary results. “The most likely scenario is a coalition government that includes all political parties – minus the PTI,” Khan told Al Jazeera. This will include the two largest political parties, PPP and PMLN, as well as MQM, Jamaat-e-Islami, and others. “The second scenario, less likely but technically possible, is the PPP joining hands with the PTI and forming a government,” the analyst said. The PTI-affiliated candidates who ran as independents have gathered the most seats.
Protests have broken out across the country for the second consecutive day as the final results are awaited, with demonstrators claiming that the delay in announcing the election results is an opportunity for authorities to manipulate the vote count. NetBlocks reported a nationwide disruption of the social media platform X during polling. The PTI has called the interruption “absolutely shameful”.
Election watchdog Free and Fair Election Network issued a generally positive assessment of how the Election Commission of Pakistan conducted the polls but stated that delays in announcing results “overshadowed an otherwise orderly election,” raising questions about the legitimacy of the outcome. “In addition, the caretaker government’s suspension of cellular and internet services on election day – regardless of the security reasons – undermined years of parliamentary efforts to reform the election results management process,” the network added in its preliminary report.
The United States, United Kingdom, and European Union have expressed concerns about Pakistan’s electoral process, mentioning allegations of interference – including arrests of party workers – and added that claims of irregularities, interference, and fraud should be fully investigated. In a statement on Saturday, Pakistan’s foreign office said comments by “certain countries and organisations” ignored the “undeniable fact” of Pakistan holding elections peacefully and successfully while dealing with security threats.
Amid frustration and uncertainty among people in Pakistan, the head of the country’s powerful army made his first public statement since the vote. “The nation needs stable hands and a healing touch to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarization, which does not suit a progressive country of 250 million people,” said General Syed Asim Munir, according to a statement from the military on Saturday. “Elections are not a zero-sum competition of winning and losing but an exercise to determine the mandate of the people,” the statement quoted Munir as saying. “Political leadership and their workers should rise above self-interests and synergize efforts in governing and serving the people, which is perhaps the only way to make democracy functional and purposeful.” The military has played a significant role in the country’s political affairs, directly ruling for more than three decades since 1947.
Ayesha Siddiqa, senior fellow at King’s College London, said Pakistan’s army has been hoping for a weak coalition to be formed under the PMLN leadership. “In a way, these are the results we got,” Siddiqa told Al Jazeera. “But I would also argue that these are not the results they expected. They did the most to ensure that voter turnout was low, but people came out with a passion.” Siddiqa said the army was likely to support a coalition government bringing together the PMLN and the PPP, but it was still unsure who would lead it, whether it be Bhutto Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif, or Nawaz Sharif.
