Imran Khan’s Party Wins Majority Of Seats In Pakistan’s Bypoll

Islamabad: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan won the majority of seats in by-poll on Sunday, building momentum in his campaign to pressure the six-month-old government into calling an early national vote.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan data informed that Imran Khan contested seven of the eight seats and won six. The Pakistan Peoples Party, a member of the ruling coalition, took the other two seats.

While the ex-leader will have to resign from all except one of the seats he won and elections will take place again. The victory of Imran Khan suggests that voters in the nation of more than 220 million people support his political narrative.

Imran Khan was ousted from power through a no-confidence vote in April. After this, he has been holding rallies across Pakistan that are attracting large crowds to seek early elections.

The political drama comes as Shehbaz Sharif’s government grapples with economic distress. Moody’s downgraded the nation’s credit rating and Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have dipped to the lowest levels in three years. Floods earlier this year have also added to the crisis.

The vote is taking place after all 131 lawmakers from Khan’s party resigned from parliament’s lower house in April following the change in government. Elections for those seats are being held in phases. While a sweeping win will embolden Khan and his supporters, Khan’s current spate of legal woes may put a brake on his political ambitions.