Political turmoil deepens in Pakistan over delay in election result
Tension was building in Pakistan Friday as authorities struggled to explain a delay in announcing the result of the national election, leading to accusations that the authorities were suppressing a tide of votes in favor of jailed opposition leader Imran Khan. Thursday’s election pitched Khan’s passionate support against the followers of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
But many in the country saw Khan’s actual opponent as the military, with whom he fell out during his time as prime minister, and which is believed to be backing Sharif this time around. The perception that this has been an unusually unfair election is dealing a heavy blow to Pakistan’s hesitant journey toward democracy, which has often been disrupted by periods of military rule.
“There is a discrepancy between the thinking of the voter and those who control power in Pakistan," said Hasan Askari Rizvi, author of a book on the military’s role in Pakistani politics. “That discrepancy will be a major cause of instability in the future." Pakistan’s military has admitted to interfering in the country’s politics in the past but says it no longer does so.
The political turmoil that has gripped the country since the 2022 ousting of Khan as prime minister looks set to continue, analysts said. The uncertainty over the election outcome saw the stock exchange plunge on opening Friday.
The likely result is normally clear by midnight on election day, as television channels broadcast completed but unofficial counts from polling stations around the country. Unofficial early results had raised the possibility of a wave for Khan, but counting appeared first to slow and then stop, deepening alarm in his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party that results were being tampered
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