Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan on Friday started preparations to form the government at the Centre after his party won 116 of 269 contested seats in the National Assembly, Dawn reported. The party needs an alliance to claim the majority mark of 237.
The party is also working to form its government in Punjab province and has started contacting leaders of different parties and independent candidates. “We will definitely form our government in Punjab as we are in contact with 21 independent candidates,” party spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry said.
The Election Commission of Pakistan released the final results of the elections on Saturday, declaring Khan’s party the single-largest with 116 National Assembly seats, followed by Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) with 64 seats. The Pakistan Peoples Party won 43 seats.
A multi-party meeting on Friday rejected the result of the polls alleging rigging and demanded a transparent re-election, threatening country-wide protests, PTI reported. Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) President Shehbaz Sharif and Jamiat Uleme-e-Islam Fazal chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman jointly presided over the ‘All Parties Conference’ in Islamabad.
“People have been robbed of their mandate,” Fazlur Rehman said, adding that they reject the claims of those who are claiming victory.
The Pakistan Peoples Party, which did not attend the meeting, rejected the election process. Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari demanded the chief election commissioner to resign over failure to conduct transparent polls, reported Geo News.
Mutahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan also did not attend the party. However, Dawn reported that the party is inching closer to forge a coalition with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.
US, European Union voice concerns over elections
The Donald Trump administration has said that some steps, including the curbs on freedom of expression and association taken by authorities in Pakistan, were at odds with their stated goal of a free, fair and transparent polls, PTI reported.
United States Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said that the development of a strong democratic and civilian institutions of governance is critical to Pakistan’s long-term stability and prosperity. “In that context, the United States shares concerns about flaws in the pre-voting electoral process, as expressed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan,” she said.
On Friday, the European Union’s observer mission said the election suffered from the lack of a level playing field, and that irregularities had been reported in the vote-counting process. “Our assessment is that, overall, the elections of 2018 were not as good as in 2013,” EU’s chief observer Michael Gahler said, according to Al Jazeera.
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