Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif claimed victory in the national elections held on February 8, despite facing allegations of rigging and losing his battle for another seat in the parliament. Sharif, who leads the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, won his seat in Lahore but was defeated in Mansehra by an independent candidate backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.
The PTI’s remarkable performance came despite a massive crackdown on the party and its supporters ahead of the election, which included banning its logo, suspending mobile phone services, barring its candidates from holding rallies, and preventing its agents from monitoring polling stations. Khan and his supporters have always denied the corruption and other charges that landed him in prison, and accused the powerful military of siding with Sharif and manipulating the electoral process.
Sharif, however, dismissed the possibility of a hung parliament and insisted that his party had the mandate to form the next government. He told his supporters that they needed ten more years to fix the country’s problems and that he would provide laptops to the youth. His speech was widely mocked on social media as a sign of his detachment from reality and his arrogance.
Many analysts and observers have questioned the credibility and transparency of the election, citing the unusual delays in the vote counting, the exit poll ban, the allegations of deep-fake videos, and the deadly attacks targeting politicians. They have also warned of the potential instability and uncertainty that could arise from a fractured and contested parliament, especially as Pakistan faces major security and economic challenges.