The PDM must be seriously worried by the results. The massive public support for it in late 2020-early 2021was hardly evident in these elections. For the PML(N), the optics are terrible.
His wins in the latest by-polls are a warning to the ruling establishment that he may be regaining his popularity. The general election is due next summer, but Khan’s demand for an early election is likely to become louder
By: Editorial
Updated: October 20, 2022 6:11:59 am
Imran Khan’s rout of the ruling People’s Democratic Movement in by-elections to the National Assembly and the Punjab Assembly was no surprise. The former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader has been more popular since his removal from office than he was as the head of government. Then, his own followers were deserting him in droves, disappointed at his inability to fix governance and his obsession with fixing political rivals instead. But immediately after his ouster, Khan was able to mobilise support by projecting himself as a “victim” of an alleged conspiracy hatched by the US with the Army chief and opposition leaders to remove him. Demonstrating an energy that he never showed as PM, Khan has galvanised followers across Pakistan, demanding at every meeting that the government must hold early elections, and also attempting to turn army officers against their chief. The conspiracy theory seems to have gone down well in a country with a deep strand of anti-Americanism, especially in the conservative middle classes, which Khan counts as his main constituency.
The PDM must be seriously worried by the results. The massive public support for it in late 2020-early 2021was hardly evident in these elections. For the PML(N), the optics are terrible. It was crucial for the party to show it was popular in Punjab province where it is most rooted. But six months in office have not been easy, what with Khan’s attacks including against the army, a devastating flood and tough economic decisions. Elections were held in eight National Assembly constituencies — three in Punjab, three in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two in Sindh. By-elections were also held in three Punjab provincial assembly constituencies. The small consolation for PDM was that while the eight National Assembly seats were all previously held by the PTI, the ruling coalition managed to wrest one in Punjab. It was won by the joint PDM candidate from the PPP. The PTI retained seven, in which Khan was his party’s candidate. PTI candidates also won the three Punjab PA seats.
Next month’s change at the top in the Pakistan Army could further complicate matters. The new army chief faces not just a complex political landscape, and in keeping with its oversized role in national affairs, difficult choices to make, but also a lawless north-west frontier where the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has swarmed in from safe havens in Afghanistan and unleashed a campaign of intimidation and extortion. Pakistan will continue to remain unsettled until the next general election at least. It is due next summer, but Khan’s demand for an early election is likely to become louder.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd