Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed his supporters with his brother Shehbaz Sharif and daughter Maryam Nawaz following the announcement of initial results of the country’s parliamentary election. The speech was given in Lahore, Pakistan, on Friday. K.M. Chaudary/AP.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has made a U-turn on his statements and said that he would seek to form a coalition government after his party trailed independent candidates backed by his imprisoned rival, Imran Khan. His party was behind in the initial results of the parliamentary election, Sharif told his supporters that he was sending his brother and former premier, Shehbaz Sharif, to meet the leaders of other parties and invite them to join a coalition. He made these remarks following results that showed candidates backed by Khan leading in the election. A surprise, given the claims by Khan’s supporters and a national rights body that the voting was manipulated against him.
A former cricket star turned Islamist politician with a significant grassroots following, Khan was disqualified from running in Thursday’s election because of criminal convictions. He contends his sentences and a slew of legal cases pending against him were politically motivated.
Sharif had gruffly rejected the idea of a coalition, telling reporters after casting his vote Thursday that he wanted a single party running Pakistan for a full five-year term. But on Friday he acknowledged, “we don’t have enough of a majority to form a government without the support of others and we invite allies to join the coalition so we can make joint efforts to pull Pakistan out of its problems.”
With 90% of the 266 National Assembly results announced by the election oversight body, candidates backed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, had won 98 seats. The Pakistan Muslim League party of three-time premier Sharif, had 67 seats. But with a third major party in the mix, nobody could declare outright victory.
The lack of a majority did not stop Sharif’s relatives and loyalists from appearing on a balcony at his party headquarters, waving to the crowds below. People threw rose petals on Sharif’s car as he arrived to address party workers.
The U.S. State Department criticized the elections for including undue restrictions on freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly and condemned electoral violence and restrictions on basic human rights.
Police said two people were killed and six injured in the northwest district of Shangla after clashes broke out Friday between Khan supporters and officers. The European Union called for a “timely and full investigation” of all reported election irregularities.
Sporadic violence and a nationwide cellphone service shutdown overshadowed Thursday’s voting. The Interior Ministry attributed the delay to a “lack of connectivity” resulting from security precautions.
Sharif returned to Pakistan in October after four years of self-imposed exile abroad to avoid serving prison sentences. Within weeks of his return, his convictions were overturned, leaving him free to seek a fourth term. The ease of his comeback marked him as the preferred candidate of the security establishment. But the success of Khan-backed candidates against the odds means Sharif will have to woo all politicians with assembly seats if he wants to lead the country again.