Pakistan's ex-PM calls for early vote after by-election wins in Punjab

LAHORE • Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan yesterday called for early national elections after his party swept the by-elections in Punjab, the country's most populous state, underscoring the risks the government faces as it seeks a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Mr Khan was ousted in April following a protracted political drama that saw Mr Shehbaz Sharif take over as premier. Since then, Mr Khan has held massive public rallies demanding the country head to the polls ahead of the scheduled October 2023 dates.

He is now touting Sunday's electoral win as a sign of popular support for his party.

"The only way forward from here is to hold free & fair elections under a credible ECP," Mr Khan said in a tweet, referring to the Election Commission of Pakistan. "Any other path will only lead to greater political uncertainty & further economic chaos."

Mr Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has won 15 out of 20 seats up for grabs in the Punjab state legislature and Mr Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) got four seats, Punjab Election Commission director Abdul Hameed said by phone.

The PTI now has control of the 371-member Punjab state assembly with a total of 188 lawmakers.

The province is considered a political stronghold for Mr Sharif, who had been its chief minister three times and took a keen interest in infrastructure projects there. His son Hamza Shahbaz is Punjab's chief minister.

The loss is especially critical for Mr Sharif, who had allowed officials to take advantage of a drop in oil prices and reduce pump prices ahead of the ballot.

The election victory for Mr Khan comes as the South Asian nation deals with the highest inflation in 13 years and as foreign exchange reserves have dropped to less than two months of import cover. Moody's Investors Service downgraded Pakistan's outlook to negative last month.

Since coming to power, Mr Sharif has been pushed to take unpopular decisions - including raising energy prices and taxes as well as reducing spending - to revive the country's bailout programme with the IMF.

Pakistan secured a US$1.2 billion (S$1.67 billion) loan from the multilateral lender last week to shore up dwindling foreign exchange reserves. The country expects to receive about US$4 billion in external financing from friendly countries after this month, following an agreement with the IMF on revival of its bailout package.

The Punjab by-election results have increased political uncertainty and come at a time when Pakistan's economy is still in a fragile state, said Mr Raza Jafri, head of equities at Intermarket Securities in Karachi.

Mr Khan, a former cricket star, has accused the ruling coalition - made up of PML-N and the Pakistan's Peoples Party - of colluding with the country's powerful military and the United States to push him out, an allegation they have all denied.

Punjab was under the control of Mr Khan's PTI until April when then Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar resigned after the federal Parliament took up a no-confidence vote against Mr Khan. The PTI's subsequent nominee for the post was defeated as a faction among the party's state lawmakers voted for Mr Sharif's candidate instead.

Mr Khan then successfully petitioned the Election Commission of Pakistan to remove the state lawmakers who had defied party directives and illegally voted against it, leaving 20 seats vacant.

BLOOMBERG