Pakistan election: Imran Khan will need to form coalition, official results show

Imran Khan won Pakistan’s election but will have to seek out allies to form a coalition government, official results show.

After an exceptionally slow count, Pakistan election officials on Friday announced the cricket star’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won 109 of the 269 seats being contested in the National Assembly.

His nearest rival, Shahbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) party won 63 seats. Sharif, who heads the party of jailed ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has rejected the results, alleging widespread fraud and manipulation.

Khan declared his victory on Thursday and dismissed the allegations of fraud calling it the most transparent election in Pakistan’s history.

Third place went to the left of centre Pakistan People’s party with 39 seats. Results from 20 seats were still being counted.

Although Khan appeared to fall short of the 137 seats needed for a majority in the National Assembly, his better-than-expected results mean he should have no problems forming a government with a handful of small coalition partners.

Khan’s party also appears to succeeded in wresting control of the local assembly in Pakistan’s biggest province, Punjab, from the Sharifs. Punjab is home to more than half of Pakistan’s 208 million people and been the power base of the Sharif family for more than three decades.

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The Guardian