Pakistan: Several political parties contest Imran Khan's victory

Islamabad – A group of political parties on Friday rejected Imran Khan's victory in Pakistan's Wednesday legislative elections, announcing protests and demanding a new election.
  

" We believe a theft was committed ," said one of their representatives, politician Maulana Fazalur Rehman after a meeting of a dozen parties in Islamabad , while the vote was tainted with accusations of fraud.

Among these formations is the PML-N of Shahbaz Sharif, in power in the last five years, who denounced Wednesday " flagrant fraud " bringing back Pakistan 30 years back ". The party considers itself victim of a conspiracy of the Pakistani army and justice to oust it from power.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, dismissed in July 2017 for a controversial corruption case, was sentenced to ten years in prison and detained less than two weeks before the election.

The election campaign itself has been portrayed by some observers as one of the most " dirty " in the country's history because of alleged manipulation of the Pakistani army in favor of Khan.

" People say they have a majority, but we do not recognize it, and we do not even want to give them the right to rule after this election." We agreed to demand new elections ]"said Maulana Fazalur Rehman again.

" We will block the road of these thieves and looters if they go to Parliament ," he added, stressing that " the survival of democracy "in the country.

The leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto, third in the ballot, and absent at this meeting, announced shortly afterwards at a press conference that he also rejected the results of the election. .

The son of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, murdered in 2007, however, said he would seek to convince other political parties to participate in the parliamentary process.

– Freedom of Expression –

These statements come as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan's party, won the poll by securing at least 114 seats in Parliament, far ahead of rivals, according to partial results released Friday by the Pakistan Election Commission (PEC).

But the European Union's observation mission also referred to " restrictions on freedom of expression " and stated that " the 2018 electoral process" ( was) not up to the (legislative) 2013 "

" Most interlocutors (have) acknowledged a systematic effort to undermine (PML-N) via corruption cases , contempt of court or terrorism charges "she further noted.

Analysts warned of risks of instability given the circumstances in which the election campaign and the vote took place and the risks they pose to the legitimacy of the results.

" No one can govern effectively when half of the country believes that you were installed as a result of manipulation of the army and justice rather than the vote of the people ," he said. former diplomat Hussain Haqqani.

" The problem is that the military took on such a central role on the day of the vote and that the party accusations include the fact that their election officials were expelled from polling stations ", adds the badyst Azeema Cheema, interviewed by AFP.

" These are going to be questions that will be difficult for the army to answer, and there will be no answers to that ," she predicts.

Pakistan, a nuclear power, has been ruled by its army for nearly half of its 71-year history.

Wednesday's election was only the second democratic transition from one civil parliament to another in a young country with a past punctuated by military coups and fragile institutions.

– " New Pakistan " –

Imran Khan for his part had claimed victory on Thursday, sweeping the charges of fraud.

The result obtained, although better than expected, will not allow him to obtain the majority (137 seats) necessary for the formation of a government. He had to look for allies among the independent deputies or form a coalition with other parties.

" We were successful, we were given a warrant ," he said, praising the "fairest and most transparent elections" in the history of country.

Promising the advent of a " new Pakistan ", he pledged to fight corruption and poverty. He also promised to work for " Balanced Relationships " with the United States and said he was ready to discuss the thorny Kashmir dispute with India.

But the future government will be confronted with pressing problems, including an economy in the red and gigantic environmental challenges.

Shahbaz Sharif's PML-N won 63 seats at this stage, and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's PPP, 43, said the commission.