PTI-linked independents take Pakistan election lead as counting nears end

Candidates linked to jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political party are in the lead in Pakistan’s election, ahead of two dynastic parties believed to be favoured by the military, as vote counting enters its final leg.

In an AI-generated “victory speech” posted on the social media platform X on Friday, Khan described the vote as an “unprecedented fightback from the nation” that resulted in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) “landslide victory”, despite what he calls a crackdown on his party.

Khan’s PTI candidates were forced to run as independents after they were barred from using the party symbol – a cricket bat – to help illiterate voters find them on ballots.

Election results started to trickle in nearly 12 hours after polling for national and provincial assemblies ended on Thursday, showing PTI-affiliated candidates taking a narrow lead, followed by Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) contenders.

Independent candidates, most backed by the PTI, have won 99 seats so far out of 266 total in the National Assembly. The PMLN has won 71 and the PPP 53. Results are still due for more than a dozen seats.

Meanwhile, another former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who heads the PMLN, said he would seek to form a coalition government after his party trailed the independent candidates backed by Khan.

Earlier, Sharif had claimed victory in the elections while the votes were still being counted.

But he later backtracked, saying, “We don’t have enough of a majority to form a government without the support of others and we invite allies to join the coalition so we can make joint efforts to pull Pakistan out of its problems.”

Sharif said he would approach the PPP of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the son of assassinated 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.

‘Made history’

In his AI address, Khan decried the PMLN leader as a “petty man”, adding, “No Pakistani will accept him” or his claim of victory.

Speaking to voters, he said, “My fellow Pakistanis, you have made history. I am proud of you, and I give thanks to God for uniting the nation”.

Pakistan’s vote happened just more than a week after Khan, who has been in jail since August, faced back-to-back sentences in several cases he has said were politically motivated.

Last month, the 71-year-old former leader was handed his longest sentence yet: 14 years for corruption in a case related to the selling of state gifts he received as 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, their election lead came as a surprise to many.