Pakistan elections: PMLN and PPP agree to form coalition government

 Pakistan elections:

PML(N) and PPP agree to form coalition government.

Pakistan's two political parties  have reached a formal agreement to form a new government after a controversial election. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) jointly announced that it would form a new government with support from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). As of February 8, both parties had won fewer seats than candidates loyal to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. Regarding X,  Khan's PTI party accused the coalition government of being a "mission thief". His movement claims the vote was rigged to keep his supporters out of power.  

More than six days after their initial agreement to form a coalition government, the PMLN and PPP announced  at a press conference on Tuesday that they had reached a complete agreement. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardaro said, "The purpose of the coalition government is to address the  economic crisis in the country." Former prime minister and  PMLN chairman Shahbaz Sharif promised "joint measures to address economic and other challenges." 

The deal means  Sharif will become prime minister for the second time with the support of his junior coalition partners, while Asif Ali Zardari of the PPP will become the coalition's presidential candidate.

The process to select the prime minister will include a parliamentary vote scheduled for the end of February. Another election to decide the next president will be held in the coming weeks. It remains unclear who will fill other important government positions. A disputed parliamentary election earlier this month failed to produce a final result.  Mr Khan is in prison and his candidate, backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has been forced to run as an independent rather than under a single banner. has emerged as the biggest block with shocking results. 

However, the 93 seats in parliament were insufficient for the  majority of 169 needed to form a government. This paved the way for the PMLN,  led by another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, to begin negotiations with the PPP. The PMLN won 75 seats and the PPP came in third place with 54 seats, but support from smaller parties is expected and if the seats reserved for women and representatives of religious minorities are distributed, the parliamentary coalition partners will have enough support  to govern. The two parties were part of the coalition that dramatically ousted Mr. Khan  in 2022. 

In January 2024, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets, a charge he denies.  PTI is challenging the results in court and its supporters are holding protests across the country. Last week, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party resigned from his Karachi seat, claiming he had given medals to local election officials  to prevent the PTI opposition from winning. In recent days, social media has been paralyzed across the United States due to protests. Internet access watchdog Netblocks said on Tuesday that access to X (formerly Twitter) remained restricted for many people.