Almost two weeks after the surprising election result, Pakistan is facing the possible formation of a coalition government headed by former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The Muslim League PML-N of the Sharif political dynasty and the People’s Party PPP around former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari say they have enough votes to form a government. The two parties announced this at a press conference. The PML-N will provide the future prime minister. “Shehbaz Sharif will be the candidate for prime minister,” Zardari said. Several small parties and independent candidates had announced that they would support the coalition.
In the nuclear-armed South Asian state, the future balance of power appears to have been clarified after the election on February 8th. In the election, completely unexpectedly, candidates registered as independents, most of whom belong to the opposition party PTI, won the most seats among the various camps. The Muslim League PML-N surprisingly only came second in the vote, followed by the PPP, which made forming a government difficult.
The election in the country with around 240 million inhabitants was overshadowed by internet blocks and allegations of manipulation. Observers criticized the judiciary’s harsh approach against the opposition party PTI, which was only allowed to run with independent candidates following a Supreme Court decision.
Since Pakistan’s independence over 75 years ago as a result of the partition of British India, there have been repeated unrest and instability in the country. The military ruled for more than half of this time. Even among civilian governments, generals were seen as the force that could determine the success or failure of the political leadership.
