Historic win for Imran Khan breaks Pakistan’s dynastic rule

Bloomberg

Breaking the dynastic hold on Pakistani politics, former cricket hero Imran Khan won the most seats in an election tarred by widespread allegations of rigging and military interference.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or Movement for Justice party, clinched at least 115 national seats, according to results released by the Election Commission of Pakistan. He beat the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz headed by his jailed main rival Nawaz Sharif.
The PML-N saw its majority erode to 63 seats in the 342-seat lower chamber of parliament. The Pakistan Peoples Party came in third with 43 seats, with the other rest split among smaller parties. The election agency has yet to declare seven seats and Khan will have to form a coalition.
The victory for the 65-year-old ex-cricket captain turned anti-corruption crusader ends the decades long rotational grip of the army, Sharif’s PML-N and the PPP headed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari — the son of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto — parties Khan accused of entrenched graft, which they both deny.
While Khan’s pledge to eradicate corruption appealed to voters, his campaign was characterised by complaints by journalists, politicians and activists of so-called pre-poll rigging by the military, which has dismissed the allegations.
The vote was negatively affected by the political environment amid media restrictions and a problematic vote count, Michael Gahler, the chief observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission, told reporters in Islamabad. There were systemic efforts to undermine the PML-N and the conduct of the election was not as good as the previous one in 2013, he said.
Sharif’s party initially rejected the results — though his nephew Hamza Shehbaz Sharif later said the PML-N would sit in opposition. In a victory speech, Khan said he would probe the allegations, while acknowledged that fixing the economy was the “greatest challenge” and he would implement wide-ranging reforms. He also called for improved trade ties and peace talks with rival neighbor India and said the two countries needed to end the “blame game” over the disputed and split region of Kashmir, which both claim in its entirety.
“I assure if India takes one step forward, we will take two steps forward,” Khan said.
The new government will also compete for influence over foreign policy with Pakistan’s powerful military, which has ruled for much of the nation’s history. Khan has courted right-wing religious leaders and has been highly critical of the American invasion and conduct in Afghanistan. He has long criticised the US for drone strikes in Pakistan, taken a hard line against India and expressed support for China’s $60 billion infrastructure programme.
Khan, who has led a relentless anti-graft campaign was seen as the military’s top choice for prime minister despite his denials. Sharif has clashed repeatedly with the armed forces over the years and was jailed this month on corruption charges, which he is appealing.
Pakistan’s rapidly deteriorating finances will be top of the agenda for the next government.