Reuters reported Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif claimed victory in national elections on Friday.
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (C) and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) party, along with his younger brother and former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) and his daughter Maryam Nawaz (L) speaks with supporters in Lahore on February 9, 2024, a day after Pakistan's national elections. Candidates loyal to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan edged ahead in Pakistan's election Friday, in front of the two dynastic parties believed favoured by the military, as the vote count entered its final leg.
Sharif claims his political party emerged with the majority vote. Discussion will soon follow on forming a coalition government, he said. He did not disclose how many seats his party had won, and counting is still underway to determine the last few of the 265 seats.
The latest count published by the election panel showed his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) winning 42 seats, much below the 133 mark needed to stake a claim to form a government, published Reuters.
According to an article by Bloomberg, Sharif's party will seek talks with rival Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's group on forming a coalition in Pakistan.
Bhutto Zardari, 35, is the scion of the Bhutto dynasty, while Nawaz Sharif is a three-time former premier who returned from exile in London to contest the election.
If the two family-based parties join forces, it could foil jailed former premier Imran Khan's agenda. Khan's party was forced to run as independents and presented a strong performance in Thursday's election, demonstrating Khan's enduring popularity and making the polls too close to call, said Bloomberg.
An alliance of the two parties could prove beneficial for the nation's powerful military, which analysts say was instrumental in removing Khan from power in April 2022, sending him to prison on several charges. They even barred candidates from using Khan's famous cricket bat symbol in the polls.
An alliance will likely anger Khan's millions of young supporters as they agree with his populist and anti-establishment approach. They view the Sharifs and Bhuttos as representations of traditional and conservative Pakistani politics.
Pakistan's Election History:
Barron's reported Pakistan's poll is the most frantic of recent years, calling the elections a deluge of disinformation.
"All different political parties made sure that they participated" in the flow of false information, Pakistan director of internet watchdog Bytes 4 All Shahzad Ahmed told AFP.
Authorities allegedly blocked mobile phone and data service during Thursday's polling hours, heightening security concerns a day after 28 people were killed in twin bombings claimed by the Islamic State group near candidate offices.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were both falsely claimed to have called for election boycotts. The false boycott claims are apparent bids to stifle the turnout of the 128 million Pakistanis eligible to vote on Thursday.
The reports are nothing new. Pakistan's elections have historically been subject to allegations of rigging in favor of military-backed parties.
