Candidates linked to jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's political party are leading in Pakistan's election, ahead of two dynastic parties believed to be favored by the military, as vote counting enters its final stretch.
In an AI-generated “victory speech” posted on social media platform (PTI), despite what he calls a repression against his party.
Khan's PTI candidates were forced to run as independents after they were banned from using the party's symbol (a cricket bat) to help illiterate voters find it on ballots.
Election results began leaking nearly 12 hours after the national and provincial assembly elections ended on Thursday, showing PTI-affiliated candidates taking a narrow lead, followed by Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN) contenders ) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP).
Independent candidates, most of them backed by the PTI, have so far won 99 seats out of a total of 266 in the National Assembly. The PMLN has won 69 and the PPP 52. Results are still awaited for about two dozen more seats.
Meanwhile, another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who heads the PMLN, said he would seek to form a coalition government after his party fell behind independent candidates backed by Khan.
Earlier, Sharif had declared victory in the elections while votes were still being counted.
But then he backtracked and said: “We do not have a sufficient majority to form a government without the support of others and we invite allies to join the coalition so that we can make joint efforts to get Pakistan out of its problems.”
Sharif said he would approach the PPP of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, son of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, as a coalition partner.
He also added that he wants to sit together in harmony with other parties to “change” Pakistan.
'He made history'
In his speech to AI, Khan denounced the PMLN leader as a “mean man” and added: “No Pakistani will accept him” or his claim of victory.
Addressing voters, he said: “Fellow Pakistanis, you have made history. “I am proud of you and I thank God for uniting the nation.”
President Imran Khan's victory speech (AI version) after the nation's unprecedented struggle that resulted in PTI's landslide victory in the 2024 general elections. pic.twitter.com/Z6GiLwCVCR
-Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 9, 2024
The vote in Pakistan took place just over a week after Khan, who has been in prison since August, faced consecutive sentences in several cases that he said were politically motivated.
Last month, the 71-year-old former leader received his longest sentence yet: 14 years for corruption in a case involving the sale of state gifts he received when he was prime minister. A day earlier, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets.
With Khan in jail and PTI members facing a crackdown, his electoral lead came as a surprise to many.
Maya Tudor, associate professor at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government, told Al Jazeera that a victory for PTI-backed candidates in the elections would be notable, but the road ahead is difficult.
“An unstable economy, conflicts on almost all borders and soaring inflation, which ordinary Pakistanis feel every day,” Tudor said.
'Political engineering'
Thursday's election was marred by violence by armed groups and a widely criticized suspension of mobile phone services also sparked accusations of “political engineering”.
Reporting from the city of Lahore early Friday, Al Jazeera's Assed Baig said that on the streets, people had been openly saying that votes had been manipulated.
“Some of the forms that come out of those polling stations show that, in fact, there are discrepancies and there is a real fear among people that if their votes are not respected, in terms of reflecting who they voted for, then that frustration could lead to the streets, as we have already seen in some places,” Baig said.
He added that two people were reportedly killed and 20 injured due to violence sparked by the election results in northwestern Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Pashtoonkhuwa Mili Awami Party (PKMAP) announced protests across Balochistan province against the election results, with party president Mehmood Khan Achakzai calling the 2024 elections rigged, Al Jazeera's Saadullah Akhter reported. .
The long delays in the start of the elections also discouraged people.
Muhammad Hussain, 67, said voting at a particular station in Karachi's Malir area did not begin until 3 p.m., seven hours after the scheduled start time.
“We voted for change. But the way things are going, it doesn't seem like that's the case,” he told Al Jazeera.
Elsewhere, several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have called on authorities to investigate alleged irregularities in Pakistan's general election while the final vote count is still underway.
The final count will be known later Friday night.
