ISLAMABAD: A party led by former Pakistan premier Imran Khan is poised to win the majority of the bypolls in the most populous province of Punjab, building the case for early national polls.
Khan was ousted in April following a protracted political battle that saw Shehbaz Sharif take over as prime minister. Khan has pushed for elections to be held well before October 2023 and is already touting the victories on Sunday as popular support for his grievances.
“The only way forward from here is to hold free & fair elections under a credible ECP,” Khan said in a tweet, referring to the Election Commission of Pakistan. “Any other path will only lead to greater political uncertainty & further economic chaos.”
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is leading in 16 of 20 seats, according to preliminary results reported by Geo TV. A member of Pakistan’s main ruling government Maryam Nawaz Sharif hinted at a defeat in a tweet, saying the party should accept the result with an open heart and address weaknesses,
Khan, a former cricket star, has accused the ruling coalition -- made up of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan’s Peoples Party -- of colluding with the military establishment and the US to push him out, an allegation they have denied.
Since coming to power, Sharif has taken unpopular decisions, including raising energy prices and taxes as well as reducing spending to revive its bailout program with the IMF. The country secured a $1.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund last week to shore up dwindling foreign exchange reserves. The agreement will help unlock funding from other lenders.
Punjab was under the control of the PTI party until April when then-CM Sardar Usman Buzdar resigned after the federal parliament took up a no-confidence vote against Khan. The PTI’s subsequent nominee for the position was defeated as a faction among the party’s state lawmakers voted for the PML-N’s candidate instead.
Khan then successfully petitioned the Election Commission of Pakistan to remove the state assembly lawmakers for illegally voting against the party’s directive, leaving 20 seats vacant. It has close race as Sharif’s party currently holds 165 seats while PTI controls 163. Sharif however controls the assembly with coalition members.
The election battle comes as the South Asian nation deals with the highest inflation in 13 years and as foreign exchange reserves drop to less than two months import cover. Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Pakistan’s outlook to negative last month.
The province is a political stronghold for Sharif, who had been its chief minister three times and took a keen interest in infrastructure projects. His son Hamza Shehbaz is the incumbent chief minister of Punjab.
The Sharif-led government got a boost last week with a drop in oil prices, allowing officials to reduce fuel prices ahead of the voting. That move has been the focus of by-election campaigns for the ruling parties in Punjab.
Khan has been holding rallies across Pakistan since being ousted as premier and has drawn large crowds. During campaigning for the bypolls, Khan has warned about government plans to rig the vote and described the poll as an opportunity to end dynastic family rule and the influence of the US.
