Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Form Coalition Government with Shehbaz Sharif as PM Candidate
In a surprising turn of events, two of Pakistan’s leading political parties, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), have announced a formal agreement to form a coalition government. This comes after the recent national elections failed to produce a clear majority, leaving the country in a state of uncertainty.
At a news conference in Islamabad, PMLN President and former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif revealed that the coalition now has the “required numbers” to establish a government. Sitting beside him, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, former foreign minister and chairperson of the PPP, confirmed that Sharif would be their coalition’s candidate for prime minister. Additionally, Bhutto Zardari announced that his father, Asif Ali Zardari, would be their alliance’s candidate for president.
The PMLN-PPP coalition has also garnered support from smaller parties, solidifying their position. After 10 days of intense negotiations following the inconclusive elections held on February 8, where no party secured the necessary 134 seats for a simple majority, this coalition has emerged as a potential solution to the political deadlock.
The largest party in the National Assembly is the PMLN with 79 seats, closely followed by the PPP with 54 seats. Along with four other smaller parties, they hold a comfortable majority of 264 seats in the legislature. This alliance aims to bring stability and effective governance to Pakistan, which is currently grappling with an economic crisis, slow growth, record inflation, and rising violence by armed groups.
However, not everyone is pleased with this development. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, had also been attempting to form coalitions with smaller parties. In response to the PMLN-PPP alliance, the PTI took to social media to brand their rivals as “mandate thieves.” The PTI has long alleged widespread vote rigging in the elections, and their claims gained traction when a senior bureaucrat admitted to changing election results.
The PTI faced significant challenges in the lead-up to the elections, including a crackdown from government agencies and security forces. In an unprecedented move, the party was even denied the use of its election symbol, the cricket bat, forcing its candidates to run as independents instead of party members.
The recent admission of vote manipulation and subsequent protests have also caused disruptions on social media platform X in Pakistan. Since Saturday, X has been inaccessible due to public use for protest purposes. Digital rights activist Usama Khilji explained that the outage was a result of people taking to the streets to voice their discontent. However, the Pakistani government has not acknowledged this issue.
The formation of a government is now of utmost importance for Pakistan. As a nuclear-armed nation with a population of 241 million, the country faces numerous challenges, including an economic crisis and rising violence. A stable administration with the authority to make tough decisions is crucial.
Bhutto Zardari emphasized that the PPP and PMLN would work diligently to establish a government as soon as possible. According to the country’s constitution, a parliamentary session must be called by February 29, followed by a vote for a new prime minister. The clock is ticking, and Pakistan eagerly awaits the resolution of its political impasse.
