Candidates for Imran Khan overcome the odds to win the Pakistani election

Imran Khan was put in prison and made silent. It was forbidden for his comrades to run for office in Pakistan under the banner of their party. Not even the usage of its iconic cricket bat emblem was permitted.

However, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party candidates, who are running as independents, performed well in the controversial vote. Of the 265 contested lower house seats, 99 were won by independents, mostly supported by the previous premier; the results for the other 15 are still pending.The Pakistan Peoples Party of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had 53 seats, whereas Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had 71.
The robust performance of the independents suggests that Khan remains popular with the 129 million voters who are registered in the country, many of whom are having difficulty making ends meet in the face of Asia’s fastest-rising inflation. It also draws attention to the public’s discontent with Pakistan’s political establishment, which is represented by the parties of the Bhutto and Sharif dynasties.
Madiha Afzal, a foreign policy associate at Brookings Institution, stated, “That PTI-backed independents are leading right now despite all the hurdles their party has faced in the run-up to the election and in campaigning is a huge deal for Pakistan.” “It demonstrates the strength of Khan’s base, the youthful, middle-class Pakistani population.”
If the election results in a fifth consecutive hung parliament, Khan’s independents may not be able to form a government. Speaking to jubilant audiences from his Lahore stronghold on Friday night, Sharif declared victory and promised to approach Bhutto Zardari’s PPP about building a partnership to govern the nation.
The strong military, which has fought Khan, would applaud the action. According to analysts, the military supported former prime minister Sharif, who was cleared of all charges of corruption and returned from exile in London last year, for the position. Benazir Bhutto, a former politician who was killed in 2007, is the father of 35-year-old Bhutto Zardari.
The military said on Saturday that “a unified government of all democratic forces imbued with national purpose will be well-represented by Pakistan’s diverse polity and pluralism.” “Democracy and elections are means, not ends, to serve the people of Pakistan.”
Terrorist assaults that killed scores of people occurred in isolated districts bordering Afghanistan during the elections. Pakistan halted mobile phone service statewide on election day, citing the need to preserve law and order. Concerns over the anomalies in voting and the suspension of mobile phone service were voiced by the US and the EU.
An economy already facing several challenges would be burdened by any volatility and turmoil after the election. The most recent IMF bailout program is scheduled to expire in March, and inflation is already running at 28%, indicating that the next leader will need to negotiate a new agreement. In addition, he will have to deal with difficult relationships with the US and China, an increase in internal terrorism, and severe neighborly relations with Iran, Afghanistan, and India.
Nazir Arsalan, a 32-year-old bank employee, said he couldn’t live a “respectable life” and that the previous administration had failed to control inflation, so he cast his ballot for an independent supported by Khan.
Khan is the most well-liked politician in Pakistan; he led his team to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. His overthrow occurred in April 2022 as a result of conflicts with the military. After that, he started organizing protests and publicly denouncing the army, breaching a taboo, until the military and the government tightened down.
He is now incarcerated in Rawalpindi, the home of the military’s headquarters. He was recently found guilty of disclosing national secrets and getting married without permission in three additional incidents.
After the election, Khan denounced Sharif as a “dishonorable man” in an AI-generated speech for declaring victory even though he had less seats.
The address, which is available on his party’s website, had Khan saying, “My Pakistanis, you have laid the foundation for your freedom by voting yesterday.” “I’d like to congratulate everyone on winning the 2024 election.”
Since many prominent members of the party quit after a crackdown by the government and military, the majority of Khan’s independents are first-time politicians. As horse trafficking begins after the hung parliament, some may be stolen by rival parties. Politicians in South Asia often change their positions after polling.
The formation of a government might take many weeks. However, millions of Khan’s youthful followers, who clung to the former cricket star’s populist rhetoric and saw those parties as embodying the antiquated methods of Pakistani politics, would undoubtedly get enraged by any merger between the Sharif and Bhutto dynasties.
“Imran is an honest man,” said Zakir Khan, 35, a devotee from Karachi’s impoverished commercial district. “We’ve tested and tried every other option.”