What’s next in Pakistan election impasse?
A candidate for the post of Prime Minister has to show a simple majority of 169 seats in the National Assembly.
Islamabad:
Pakistan’s national elections ended with no party winning a majority in Parliament amid militant violence, political turmoil and questions about transparency.
Former prime ministers and arch rivals Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan both declared victory, adding to the uncertainty as the country faces several challenges that need to be quickly addressed, including the recovery of its struggling $350 billion economy. Maintaining this also includes negotiations on a new International Monetary Fund program.
After this, the Prime Ministerial candidate will have to show a simple majority of 169 seats in the National Assembly when the House is convened in the coming days.
There are 336 seats in the Assembly, of which 266 are decided through direct voting on polling day. There are also 70 reserved seats – 60 for women and 10 for non-Muslims – allocated according to the strength of each party in the House to determine the final standing of the parties in the Assembly.
Here are four scenarios on what could happen next:
Sharif reaches agreement to lead coalition government
Sharif’s party, which won 75 seats, formed a pact with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, which won 53 seats, to gain a majority in parliament.
Both, along with other smaller parties, form a coalition government in which Sharif or his brother is prime minister and other parties are given key positions.
The two parties remained in government together for 16 months, until August, with Bhutto Zardari as foreign minister and Sharif’s brother Shahbaz as prime minister.
Khan’s independents came to power
Khan’s independent candidates, who won 93 seats, joined a smaller party in parliament to form a single block to meet the requirement to allocate reserved seats. This will bring them closer to majority and will give them a chance to field a candidate for the post of Prime Minister.
They may also make an agreement with other parties to support the consensus candidate, which also means that Khan’s supporters are in power, and pressure to release their jailed leader as part of an agreement. Can put. Khan himself is not eligible to become Prime Minister.
The party will have to work hard to get allies on board with Khan’s politics.
Bhutto Zardari insists on leading coalition government
While Sharif and Khan’s candidates won the most seats, neither party can form a government without the PPP. Both wanting to keep the other out of power, the PPP makes a pact to make the young Bhutto Zardari prime minister.
He put forward this idea before the elections, saying that he would bring a new vision to lead Pakistan out of many crises which other elder leaders have been unable to do.
No deal, army came forward
Uncertainty persists and no one is able to form a government. The Pakistan Army, the country’s most powerful and organized army, steps in to restore order and take power, as it has done three times before in the country’s 76-year history – the last time being Sharif in 1999. To overthrow the government.
The army has already called on political parties to show “maturity and unity”.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)