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Pakistan election: Final results give Khan-backed candidates lead
Independents won 101 of the National Assembly seats. BBC analysis shows 93 of them went to PTI-backed candidates.
That puts them ahead of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif’s PMLN who won 75 and it is unclear who will form a government.
As wrangling continues, independent candidates who did not win have flooded courts with vote-rigging allegations.
Both the PTI, which was blocked from taking part in the election, and Mr Sharif’s PMLN say they want to form the next government.
The result was a surprise as most observers had expected Mr Sharif’s party – widely seen as having the powerful military’s backing – to win, given Mr Khan had been jailed on charges ranging from corruption to having married illegally and his party was barred from the ballot sheet.
To govern, a candidate has to show they are at the head of a coalition with a simple majority of 169 seats in the National Assembly.
Bilawal Bhutto from the PPP, which received the third largest number of votes, has said that they have not had any formal discussions with Imran Khan’s PTI or Nawaz Sharif’s PMLN. But the PMLN have said that Mr Bhutto’s father did meet for an informal meeting with Mr Sharif’s brother in Lahore.
The Karachi-based MQM party has also made a surprising return in the polls, winning 17 seats, and could play a role in any coalition.
Of the National Assembly’s 366 seats, 266 are decided by direct voting and 70 are reserved – 60 for women and 10 for non-Muslims – and these are allocated according to the strength of each party in the assembly.
Under Pakistan’s rules, independent candidates are not eligible to be allocated reserved seats in parliament.
The PTI, among several other parties, has called for protests against the results, alleging they have been rigged.
On Sunday, police blocked streets near the electoral commission building in the city of Rawalpindi with barbed wire and large trucks, preventing any protestors from accessing it.
For about 90 minutes, a crowd of a few hundred protestors chanted on the street. Then the atmosphere turned. Police used several rounds of teargas to disperse the crowd, which then left the area.
The Punjab police told the BBC that there was a section 144 in place – a colonial-era law that stopped a gathering of more than four people.
This restriction had been put in place before the election until 12 February, but it detailed that civilians were not allowed to carry firearms, not that they were prevented from gathering.
Police in Islamabad said action would be taken against demonstrators.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGESThe PTI’s chairman had called for peaceful protests outside electoral commission offices where they were concerned about “forged” results.
Pakistani media reported that the PTI party claimed that the results of at least 18 National Assembly seats were “falsely changed” by election officers.
On Saturday, Mr Sharif – who is thought to be favoured by the military – called for other parties to help him form a unity government.
As negotiations got under way between Mr Khan’s political rivals, experts have warned Pakistan could be facing a “prolonged period of political instability”.
Dr Farzana Shaikh from the Chatham House think tank told the BBC that the Khan-linked independents were unlikely to be allowed to form a government and many people feared a “weak and unstable coalition” would result from any tie-up between Mr Sharif and the PPP.
Meanwhile, at least six PTI-backed candidates who did not win their seats have lodged legal challenges in the courts to try to get the outcome overturned.
Among them is Yasmin Rashid, who stood against Mr Sharif in Lahore. The petitioners allege collusion in the alteration of election results on specific forms.
Pakistani officials have denied any irregularities. The PMLN has also reportedly formed a legal team to address rigging allegations.
rnz
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
rnz
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