Imran Khan claims victory in Pakistan election

Imran Khan declares victory in his Pakistan’s contentious elections, amid growing outrage at alleged military vote-rigging.

Imran Khan, delivers his address from his home in Islamabad. Picture: AP.

Former cricket star Imran Khan has declared victory in Pakistan’s contentious elections after a campaign marred by militant violence and allegations of widespread fraud.

With the poll in chaos and final results still not confirmed after electronic counting systems crashed on election night, Mr Khan announced himself as the country’s prime-minister elect in a televised address in which he vowed to improve ties India, and to seek a more equal relationship with the United States.

“Today in front of you, in front of the people of Pakistan, I pledge I will run Pakistan in such a way as it has never before been run,” Mr Khan said from his villa in the hills outside Islamabad, vowing to wipe out corruption, strengthen ‘dysfunctional’ institutions and regain national pride by developing international relationships based on respect and equality.

“God has given me a chance to come to power to implement that ideology which I started 22 years ago.”

Pakistan’s election commission has not yet released final results from Wednesday’s vote, but rival parties have rejected the results amid growing outrage at alleged vote-rigging by the military in Mr Khan’s favour.

It’s still unclear if his Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, would get a simple majority or have to form a coalition government. The party is projected to win close to 120 of the 270 contested seats.

In a populist gesture he said he would not move into the prime minister’s official residence in Islamabad but open it for public use.

“I would be ashamed to live in such a large house. That house will be converted into an educational institution or something of the sort,” he said. “I will live humbly. So far we have seen that everyone who comes to power changes. That will not happen with me.”

Mr Khan also promised to investigate allegations of vote rigging, although he claimed the poll was transparent.

“It is thanks to God (that) we won and we were successful,” said the 65-year-old former playboy.

Offering an olive branch to Pakistan’s neighbours, which included seeking dialogue with India over the disputed territory of Kashmir, he said: “If there is a country that needs stability, peace, it is Pakistan.”

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, which had held power since 2013, rejected the result because of “outright rigging”, vowing it would use “all political and legal options for redressal of these glaring excesses”.

His call for unity went unheeded as chaos continued throughout the day.

“Today what they have done has pushed Pakistan back 30 years … People will not bear it,” the party’s leader Shahbaz Sharif, brother of jailed former premier Nawaz Sharif, said in Lahore.

‘People will not bear it’: Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore yesterday. Picture: AFP

The Pakistan Peoples Party, whose chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari echoed the PML-N’s claim that party representatives had been barred from monitoring the count, tweeting that the situation was “inexcusable and outrageous”.

The neutrality of the commission has been under scrutiny for weeks as allegations mounted of pre-poll rigging by the security forces. Babar Yaqoob, the commission secretary, dismissed allegations that the vote had been hijacked, however. “Delays in the results are due only to technical issues and the software failure,” he said.

PTI officials said that talks would begin today on forming a government. Mr Khan looks set to fall just short of the 136 seats required for an outright majority and will begin the search for coalition partners.

Mr Khan’s former wife Jemima Goldsmith congratulated him, paying tribute to the “humiliations, hurdles and sacrifices” Mr Khan had overcome but added a note of caution. “The challenge now is to remember why he entered politics in the first place,” Ms Goldsmith wrote on Twitter.

22 years later, after humiliations, hurdles and sacrifices, my sons’ father is Pakistan’s next PM. It’s an incredible lesson in tenacity, belief & refusal to accept defeat. The challenge now is to remember why he entered politics in the 1st place. Congratulations @ImranKhanPTI

— Jemima Goldsmith (@Jemima_Khan) July 26, 2018

“This is complete chaos,” said analyst Azeema Cheema, who was “very concerned” about what comes next. “It depends on how the civilian disobedience is being organised. You may have spontaneous riots among political party workers. Then maybe political parties will organise sit-ins and demonstrations.”

Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Centre in Washington, echoed the concern: “No matter how you slice it, the immediate post-­election climate in Pakistan will be quite tense. I don’t see any way to prevent a period of turmoil”.

But PTI supporters were ecstatic at the projected results. First-time voter Fahad Hussain, 21, said the party had lured the country’s massive youth population. “He motivated the youth,” Mr Hussain said in Islamabad as he hit the streets to celebrate with friends.

The elections, conducted under high levels of security, were meant to be a rare democratic transition from one civilian government to another in a country which has been ruled by the military for about half its history.

Mr Khan largely campaigned on ambitious promises to tackle widespread graft while building an “Islamic welfare state”. But his bid for power was dogged by widespread accusations he was benefiting from a “silent coup” by the generals. Mr Khan has also catered to hardline religious groups, particularly over blasphemy, sparking fears a win for PTI could embolden Islamist extremists.

The PML-N says it has been the target of the military machinations. Nawaz Sharif was ousted from power last year and jailed over a corruption conviction days before this week’s vote, removing Mr Khan’s most dangerous rival.

About 800,000 troops and police were deployed on election day. However, the poll was still marred by attacks. The largest of these was a suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State, which left at least 31 dead and 70 wounded at a polling station in Quetta.

With AFP