Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan won the majority of seats in by-elections, building momentum in his campaign to pressure the six-month-old government into calling an early national vote.
Khan contested seven of the eight seats and has won six, according to Election Commission of Pakistan data with all the votes counted. The Pakistan Peoples Party, a member of the ruling coalition, took the other two seats.
While the ex-leader will have to resign from all but one of the seats he won — and elections will have to happen again — the victory suggests voters in the nation of more than 220 million people support his political narrative. The former cricket star, who was ousted from power through a no-confidence vote in April, has been holding rallies across Pakistan that are attracting large crowds to seek early elections.
