On February 8, Pakistanis went to the polls to elect representatives to the country’s national assembly and its four provincial assemblies. Preelection predictions in mainstream media converged on a comfortable return to power for the incumbent, military-favored coalition, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN).1
A return to power did take place, but the route taken was anything but comfortable. Election Day outcomes diverged considerably from pre-poll analysis, highlighting seismic shifts occurring within the body politic. Despite military-led suppression of its leaders and the judicial cancellation of a unified ballot symbol, candidates backed by the presently incarcerated Imran Khan and his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), emerged with a plurality, securing 93 out of 266 directly elected seats in the National Assembly. Its rivals the PMLN and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) secured 75 and 54 seats, respectively.2
Events on and immediately after polling day suggest that the PTI’s actual seat haul was likely considerably higher. Post-poll irregularities in vote compilation, including crude efforts to change numerical totals on result forms in favor of military-backed parties such as the PML-N, were widely reported. While losing candidates remain mired in the slow, processual grind of election tribunals, the PMLN, with the support of the PPP and a coterie of smaller parties, was quick to form a coalition government, with the incumbent prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, resuming affairs as the civilian face of a legitimacy-deficient government.
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