Islamabad: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan called for early general elections after his party swept the by-elections in the most populous and bellwether Punjab province, dealing a serious blow to the coalition government.
Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won 15 out of 20 seats in the crucial by-polls, according to unofficial results. The ruling Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party could only win four seats while one independent candidate also secured victory.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced fresh polls on 20 seats of Punjab constituencies after it disqualified 25 PTI lawmakers for switching loyalties in Punjab Assembly.
Khan demands free and fair elections
“The only way forward from here is to hold fair and free elections under a credible ECP,” Khan said in a Twitter post. “Any other path will only lead to greater political uncertainty and further economic chaos.” PTI chairman congratulated his party workers and voters for defeating the PML-N candidates but also the “entire state machinery, especially harassment by police and a totally biased ECP.” He also thanked the PTI allies, PML-Q, Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) and Sunni Ittehad Council.
PML-N concedes defeat
While the election commission is yet to announce the official results, several PML-N leaders have gracefully accepted defeat. PML-N vice-president Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of Nawaz Sharif, urged her party to accept the defeat “with an open heart.” She said that “Defeat and victory are part of elections. We must accept this (fact) wholeheartedly.” PML-N senior leader Malik Mohammad Ahmed Khan also acknowledged that PTI had clinched a “landslide victory” in the by-polls.
Local media reported that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif had attributed his party’s defeat to “difficult decisions” taken by the coalition government such as fuel, food, and electricity price hikes in a bid to unlock the IMF deal. Sharif has reportedly called an emergency meeting of the party to discuss the future course of action.
Significance of Punjab by-polls
The Punjab by-poll success is a test of Imran Khan’s popularity despite being ousted in a no-confidence vote. With 15 additional seats, PTI and PML-Q alliance has the majority to form the government in the province. The results have sealed the fate of Hamza Shehbaz’s government in Punjab and sent alarm bells ringing for Shehbaz Sharif’s federal government.
“Resounding victory” for Khan: analysts
Critics and analysts described it as a “resounding victory” for Khan who has emerged as a “genuinely popular leader with grassroots support” in a province that has traditionally been a stronghold of the ruling PML-N party. Barrister Asad Rahim Khan said that the by-polls served as a referendum. “In a parliamentary democracy, elected governments should be allowed to complete their term. No more shadow engineering or midnight deals. The best way forward is general elections,” he wrote on Twitter.
