After an election that produced no clear winner, Shehbaz Sharif was selected to govern Pakistan once more, ending the political impasse.
The second-largest party was being courted to join the administration in an attempt to maintain stability up until this past Wednesday. Nawaz, Sharif’s older brother, announced him as the coalition’s nominee to become the next prime minister.
Although it did not pledge to enter the government, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, supported the decision and said it would support an outside minority government. With the support of former prime minister Imran Khan, independent lawmakers made up the majority in the assembly and clashed with the strong military over claims that the vote was manipulated.
Latest Developments:
1. Shehbaz Sharif was re-elected to govern Pakistan after the country’s elections, which were tainted by accusations of vote-rigging, delays in the announcement of the results, protests, and an economic crisis.
For sixteen months, Sharif, 72, has led the nation as prime minister. His older brother Nawaz, the leader and founder of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the biggest party in parliament, selected him as the coalition’s nominee for the position of prime minister in the future.
2. Shehbaz Sharif named Maryam Nawaz, Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, the Chief Minister of Punjab province in Pakistan during a press conference.
Maryam stated in an X post that her father, who had three consecutive terms as prime minister, did not want to lead a minority coalition administration. Though their Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party only has 80 seats in the 264-seat parliament, six other parties have pledged their support to help them win a majority.
3. The second-largest party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, supported the decision but indicated it would assist a minority government from the outside.
PML-N and PPP officials stated that internal committees had been established to deliberate on the procedures involved in forming a government. Among the agenda items was persuading the PPP to become a part of the administration and hold places in the cabinet.
4. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, has declared that certain results will be legally challenged and claimed that the vote was manipulated. Both the electoral commission and the interim administration have denied the allegations.
Analysts had anticipated that the election would provide Pakistan with a solution to its issue, but the divided results, with many independents at odds with the powerful military, may lead to even greater instability.
5. In Pakistan, 47.6% of voters participated in the election held on February 8, which was less than the 52.1% voter turnout achieved in the last election in 2018.
In Pakistan’s 12th general elections (GE), as many as 60.6 million voters reportedly exercised their right to vote; this is a whopping 5.8 million increase in voter turnout over 2018’s 54.8 million ballots.
Also read: Pakistan Election Results Live: Who will win the polls? Check latest developments here
