Imran Khan appears to be more popular than ever
But he will struggle to force the early election he wants
It’s always election season in Pakistan. The country has been holding by-elections every couple of months ever since 131 lawmakers from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party resigned en masse in April, when their leader, Imran Khan, was ousted as prime minister in a vote of no confidence. Yet the latest round of polls on October 16th, with eight parliamentary seats up for grabs, was unlike any other: seven featured the same PTI candidate, Mr Khan himself, who painted it as a referendum on his popularity. He won six.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “One-man party”
From the October 22nd 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Fathers are doing more child care in East Asia
About time, too
Ice Age antelopes surge back from the brink of extinction
Even better, these peers of sabre-toothed tigers can help with carbon capture
Indonesia’s Prabowo is desperate to impress Trump and Xi
The new president’s first foreign tour was a shambles
Is India’s education system the root of its problems?
A recent comparison with China suggests that may be so
Meet the outspoken maverick who could lead India
Nitin Gadkari, India’s highways minister, talks to The Economist
The Adani scandal takes the shine off Modi’s electoral success
The tycoon’s indictment clouds the prime minister’s prospects