Pakistan’s political crisis aggravates amidst poll rigging charges

While the PTI, which has won 115 of the 269 contested seats, still has to get the backing of other smaller parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) are determined not to allow it to come to power.

The PML-N has won 64 seats and the PPP just 43. Khan’s PTI claims that it has the support of other smaller parties to form a coalition government.

The PML-N, whose leader former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was shifted from his jail to a hospital in Islamabad after his health deteriorated, is demanding a judicial probe into the entire electoral ‘fiasco.’

“We demand the constitution of a judicial commission to probe incidents that took place on July 25,” Khawaja Asif of the PML-N told reporters in Lahore. “We will issue a white paper on the election rigging and other incidents.”

Pakistani election officials have denied allegations of a fraudulent election, though even observers such as a European Union team said the election results appeared ‘credible.’

However, the EU Election Observation Mission was critical of the restrictions imposed on the media during the elections.

Imran Khan, who has the backing of the army, has tied up with extreme right parties including religious groups and has taken on the two established parties in Pakistan.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also rejected allegations of rigging. Reacting to reports of the recovery of five empty ballot boxes and over a dozen papers in Karachi and Sialkot, the ECP has sought for a detailed report from local officials.