PTI-backed independent candidates dominated the elections by winning 93 out of 264 seats, although they can't technically form the government. A coalition seems inevitable even as the PML-N has already snared some of the independents as no parties have won the majority.
Pakistan election results: Party insiders say Nawaz isn’t suited to a coalition because of his temperament. His younger brother, Shehbaz, led a coalition after Khan was ousted from power and is regarded as more accommodating.
As no party wins a majority of 169 seats, the one with the biggest share can form a coalition government. The vote was overshadowed by violence, an unprecedented national shutdown of all mobile phone services and allegations of vote rigging.
Out of the 253 seats whose results have been declared, PTI-backed candidates have won 100 seats, while Nawaz's party won 71 seats and Bilawal's PPP got 54 seats. None of the parties have gone past the majority mark, indicating a hung parliament and a possible coalition government.
The elections in Pakistan held on Thursday were marred by militant attacks and suspension of mobile phone services, resulting in at least 12 deaths. Despite that, Pakistan's Foreign Office insisted that the elections were held "peacefully and successfully".
PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif met PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari and invited them to work together for Pakistan. Imran Khan's party-backed independent candidates have won the most seats in the turbulent elections.
Votes are still being counted as Pakistan's Election Commission received criticism for the delay in announcements, with Imran Khan-backed independents in the lead. Nawaz Sharif and Imran both claimed victory, despite neither of them reaching the majority mark.
Addressing his party workers in Lahore, Nawaz Sharif said that he has told his younger brother Shehbaz to reach out to the PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari, JUI-F’s Fazlur Rehman and MQM-P’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui for the formation of a coalition government.
Nearly 650,000 security personnel have been deployed across poll-bound Pakistan, including the personnel of police, civil armed forces, and the armed forces. At least 128 million Pakistanis will vote for 44 political parties contesting for 266 seats in the National Assembly.
Pakistan's National Assembly has 336 seats, including 266 general seats, 60 seats reserved for women, and 10 for non-Muslims, a decrease of six seats overall after fresh delimitation. A total of 18,000 candidates would participate in federal and provincial elections on Thursday.
Dr Yasmin Rashid, running against Nawaz in Lahore's NA-130 constituency, was indicted in connection with the May 9 riots, where several military installations were vandalised in the wake of Imran's arrest. PTI leaders are contesting as independents as the party has been denied its electoral symbol.
The wild animals have been brought to multiple PML-N public gatherings in the past. However, Nawaz Sharif was not impressed by the stunt as he ordered for the animals to be returned immediately and barred from any rallies in the future.
Bilawal's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were major partners of the Pakistan Democratic Movement's 16-month government. However, the PPP chairman has slammed PML-N for rising inflation and economic mismanagement.
The court's ruling has far-reaching implications, overturning the provision that previously allowed for a lifetime ban on holding public office. This decision could reshape the political landscape, especially considering the timing in the lead-up to the forthcoming polls.
Earlier, the PML-N supremo said that neither India nor the United States are responsible for Pakistan's current problems. He blamed the country's military establishment of worsening Pakistan's economic problems and making the lives of the citizens unbearably miserable.
Former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisa said the injured were shifted to hospital. He suspected that the attack might be carrying some serious message to him. Police reached the spot and launched an investigation.
During a conversation with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ticket aspirants, the party supremo, who is eying to become prime minister for a record fourth time, pointed out that he was ousted from power three times in 1993, 1999 and 2017.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the US does not play a role in "choosing" the leaders of Pakistan and said that Washington will continue to engage with the Pakistani leadership. Former PM Imran Khan earlier accused the US of playing a role in his ouster.
With this development, Nawaz cleared another legal hurdle as he sought to make his political comeback as the next Pakistani premier. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) bench had acquitted Nawaz of the Avenfield case on November 29.
An accountability court in 2018 sentenced Nawaz to 10 years for owning assets beyond known income, with an additional year for non-cooperation with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Nawaz was declared a proclaimed offender in 2020 when he left for London on medical grounds.
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