2018 Pakistani general election
2018 general elections of Pakistan
General elections were held in Pakistan on 25 July 2018 to elect the members of the 15th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim League, led by Shehbaz Sharif, and the Pakistan People's Party, led by Bilawal Bhutto. The PTI won the most seats in the National Assembly but fell short of a majority; the party subsequently formed a coalition government with several smaller parties. At the provincial level, the PTI remained the largest party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP); the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) retained its dominance in Sindh; and the newly formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) emerged as the largest party in Balochistan. In Punjab, the result was a hung parliament, with the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N)) winning the most seats. However, after several independent MPAs joined the PTI, the latter became the largest party and was able to form a government.
Opinion polling prior to the campaigns starting had initially shown leads for the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N)) over the PTI. However, from an 11-point lead, the PML(N)'s lead began to diminish in the final weeks of the campaign, with some polls close to the election showing the PTI with a marginal but increasing lead. In the lead-up to the elections, there were rumours about pre-poll rigging being conducted by the judiciary, the military and the intelligence agencies to sway the election results in favour of the PTI and against the PML(N). However, Reuters polling suggested PML(N)'s lead had genuinely narrowed in the run-up to the elections, and that the party had suffered "blow after blow" which caused setbacks to any hopes of re-election.
Election day saw the PTI receive 32% of the vote (its highest share of the vote since its foundation), while the PML(N) received 24%.
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