Pakistan ex-PMs and bitter rivals Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan both claim election win
- Sharif’s party won the most seats by a single party, but Khan supporters, who ran as independents instead of as a single bloc, won the most seats overall
- The polls have been marred by delayed results and militant attacks, and the lack of a clear winner could throw the country into further political turmoil
Former Pakistani prime ministers and bitter rivals Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan both declared victory on Friday in elections marred by delayed results and militant attacks, throwing the country into further political turmoil.
Sharif’s party won the most seats by a single party in Thursday’s election, but supporters of imprisoned Khan, who ran as independents instead of as a single bloc after his party was barred from the polls, won the most seats overall.
Sharif said his party would talk to other groups to form a coalition government as it had failed to win a clear majority on its own.
Sharif’s announcement came after more than three-quarters of the 265 seats had declared results, more than 24 hours after polling ended on Thursday when 28 people were killed in militant attacks.
Analysts had predicted there may be no clear winner, adding to the woes of a country struggling to recover from an economic crisis while it grapples with rising militancy in a deeply polarised political environment.
