In a scene with a slight possibility of replaying in the US in November, as he sits in a prison cell after his corruption conviction, Pakistan’s opposition leader called on his followers to obstruct any policies or initiatives put forth by the new coalition government of newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was re-elected to the position after forming a tenuous coalition government with typical rivals.

Per the Washington Post, Sharif was elected by a 201 to 92 in the Parliament as supporters of former prime minister and current inmate Imran Khan shouted “Thief!” from the floor.  Khan’s Movement for Justice members claim Sharif ordered election workers to slow vote counts and exclude votes from the February 8th election so he could secure the election; as with similar claims by the losing Party here in the United States, no evidence of widespread fraud by Khan or his supporters has been presented.

Even though the election was scheduled for a little more than a week away, Khan was convicted and sentenced on January 30th of selling gifts given to the government of Pakistan when he was Prime Minister for personal profit.  He is also accused of disclosing information from a classified government communication alleging that the United States government sought to damage Khan’s credibility and campaign.  He also claims the US attempted to oust him while he served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. 

The election was also upended when Shehbaz Sharif came out on top because his brother, three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif was leading in the polls and also had the backing of Pakistan’s military, a particularly important endorsement given the country has had no fewer than seven coup attempts since the 1950s.