BBC
The result was a surprise as most observers had expected Mr Sharif’s party – widely seen as having the powerful military’s backing – to win given Mr Khan had been jailed on charges ranging from corruption to having married illegally and his party was barred from the ballot sheet.
To govern, a candidate has to show they are at the head of a coalition with a simple majority of 169 seats in the National Assembly.
Bilawal Bhutto from the PPP, which received the third largest number of votes, has said that they have not had any formal discussions with Imran Khan’s PTI or Nawaz Sharif’s PMLN. But the PMLN have said that Mr Bhutto’s father did meet for an informal meeting with Mr Sharif’s brother in Lahore.
The Karachi-based MQM party has also made a surprising return in the polls, winning 17 seats, and could play a role in any coalition.
Of the National Assembly’s 366 seats, 266 are decided by direct voting and 70 are reserved – 60 for women and 10 for non-Muslims – and these are allocated according to the strength of each party in the assembly.
Under Pakistan’s rules, independent candidates are not eligible to be allocated reserved seats in parliament.
On Sunday police blocked streets near the electoral commission building in the city of Rawalpindi in anticipation of protests, while police in Islamabad said action would be taken against demonstrators…
