Gohar Ali Khan, an aide of Pakistan’s imprisoned former prime minister, issued an open call on all institutions in Pakistan to respect his party’s mandate and held protests outside government offices that release election results across the nation on Sunday.
Under Pakistan’s electoral laws, independent candidates cannot form their own government on their own; rather they must join one.
Message from Interim Party Chief Gohar Ali Khan
Gohar Ali Khan, serving as Pakistan’s interim party chief in Imran Khan’s absence and acting in his absence by heading the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), stated his party intended to form government. He requested institutions respect its electoral mandate while telling Reuters his party would ask independent candidates who ran against both Khan and Sharif to join PTTI – as an indication of support within PTI itself.
Senior Aides have also called upon supporters to peacefully demonstrate if final election results do not arrive by Saturday night, with protests planned at all government offices that provide election results across the nation.
He also addressed concerns over Khan’s absence from election proceedings by asserting that they will challenge Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decision to exclude him from intra-party elections and announced that elections for PTI chairman were to take place on Dec 2 with their legal team briefed of this matter.
PTI’s victory
Pakistan’s powerful military is experiencing setback in their attempts to stop jailed former PM Imran Khan from winning parliamentary elections through his party, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI). There have been allegations of voter rigging but the army maintains its innocence in these claims.
Khan appears poised to win in his race to secure the most seats, despite a court order compelling his party members to run independently and run as independents. According to Reuters analysis, at least 90 winning independent candidates supported by Khan were part of their party’s coalition.
By Friday evening, results for 10 of 265 contested seats had still not been released and PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan warned his party would protest if results from all 265 seats weren’t revealed by Saturday. Additionally, if polling commission failed to respect people’s mandate and honour it properly then his party would boycott any government formation attempt – similar to tactics employed by military dictatorships during the 1990s to pit politicians against one another so weak coalition governments wouldn’t unite against their forces.
PTI’s plan to form government
As Pakistan’s election commission announces results slowly due to disruptions of mobile phone services, jailed former PM Nawaz Sharif’s party has indicated its desire to form a government. Gohar Ali Khan called upon all institutions within Pakistan to respect his mandate before warning of protests if results do not be announced by Saturday night.
PTI, which claims to have won the highest seats, has pledged to begin talks on forming a coalition government by reaching out to former President Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s parties and JUI-F leader Fazlur Rehman’s JUI-F to form one. They have also criticised Pakistan’s military, which wields considerable sway over policies in this nuclear-armed country; alleging crackdown and poll-rigging against their party; while military deny these allegations. Finally, their new government will face formidable tasks that include reducing inflation while dealing with Pakistan’s crippling foreign debt issues – something their predecessor administration failed miserably to do.
PTI’s plan to hold protests
As election results began to trickle in for Pakistan’s elections, Gohar Ali Khan of Khan’s party threatened peaceful protests at government offices across Pakistan if complete results weren’t available by Saturday night. His statements came shortly after US, UK and EU expressed concerns over possible electoral rigging, delays and violence during Pakistan’s electoral process.
As Pakistan heads into a period of political bargaining, results indicate no single party holds an outright majority in Parliament; instead, several independent candidates loyal to jailed former PM Imran Khan performed particularly well.
PTI organizers plan to hold protests at a public square in Islamabad’s Red Zone, raising security concerns. This area has long been at the centre of an impasse between Khan’s party and government over whether Khan can form a government. Protesters could draw international attention and raise questions over whether government officials are stopping rival parties from holding rallies there while turning a blind eye when their own partners bring them there.
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