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YES HE KHAN!
Pakistan Election 2018 – Cricket legend Imran Khan officially wins after a blood-soaked election and promises a ‘new Pakistan’
IMRAN Khan has officially won the Pakistan election - but will need a coalition to become its 19th Prime Minister, following a campaign marred with bloodshed.
The cricket hero, 65, said his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was "successful" in the country's "clearest, fairest election" ever.
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Mr Khan, dubbed cricket's greatest playboy in the 1980s and 1990s, ditched the sport to pursue politics because of his Islamic beliefs.
Early this morning he was announced the official winner, but does not having enough of the vote to form an entire Government.
Yesterday, with almost half the votes counted, his party held a commanding lead, and he declared victory in a televised speech at around 6.30pm local time (1.30pm BST).
Mr Khan said: "God has given me a chance to come to power to implement that ideology which I started 22 years ago.
"I want to be thankful to Allah for this mandate. Our policies will be developed for the poor and for the workers."
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Vowing to bring peace to Afghanistan, Mr Khan added: "Accountability to start from me. We will set an example in terms of law and order. Improved governance system, investment and law and order to be our priorities," he vowed.
"I am ashamed of living inside Prime Minister's House, it is made out of corrupted money. We will use all of Governor's Houses for public use. Pakistan's leaders would no longer live off the tax of the common people.
"We will try to bring peace to Afghanistan. We want open borders between Pakistan and Afghanistan."
Although Pakistan's election commission has not yet released official, he is expected to fall short of an overall majority, and may have to seek coalition partners.
Khan's message of a "new" Pakistan resonated with young voters in a country where 64 per cent of its 200 million people are below the age of 30, a United Nations report claimed.
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When 47 per cent of the votes were counted on Wednesday night, Mr Khan's followers began to celebrate in the streets and his ex-wife hailed his victory on Twitter.
Jemima - who married the famed ladies' man in 1995 - said on Twitter: "22 years later, after humiliations, hurdles and sacrifices, my sons’ father is Pakistan’s next PM.
"It’s an incredible lesson in tenacity, belief & refusal to accept defeat.
"The challenge now is to remember why he entered politics in the 1st place. Congratulations @ImranKhanPTI."
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The next Prime Minister is set to face a crumbling economy and violence after an ISIS fanatic blew himself up outside a polling station in Quetta yesterday as dozens cast their vote.
Earlier this month another ISIS suicide bomber struck a political rally, killing 149 people including PM candidate Siraj Raisani.
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Most of the election night revellers were young men, who danced to the sound of beating drums draped in Tehreek-e-Insaf party black and green-coloured flags.
Mr Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party was leading in 113 of the 272 National Assembly constituencies after votes were counted in 47 per cent of stations.
Khan's leading rival Shahbaz Sharif - who heads the Pakistan Muslim League, the party of jailed ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif - has already rejected the vote.
But officials have denied claims of vote rigging.
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Khan's party spokesman, Fawad Chaudhry, tweeted: "Congratulations to the nation on a new Pakistan! Prime Minister Imran Khan", although his party has officially held off on declaring victory.
Mr Khan himself has denied allegations that he is getting help from the military which has ruled Pakistan for almost half of its history.
The army has also denied allegations of meddling in the election.
Who is Imran Khan and why is he running for Prime Minister?
Imran Khan is a cricket star-turned politician who is a leading contender in Pakistan's election.
Described as a "quiet and shy boy in his youth" Mr Khan attended the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, before completing his formal schooling with an undergraduate degree in economics from Keble College, Oxford.
He was Pakistan's cricket captain when the national squad won the World Cup in 1992.
But after marrying Jemima in 1995, he moved into politics, founding his Tehreek-e-Insaf, the Movement for Justice party.
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The pair's romance generated shockwaves as he was a strict Muslim, and she was 20 years his junior.
Jemima, daughter of the late Jewish financier Sir James Goldsmith, converted to Islam when she married Mr Khan, who was dubbed cricket's greatest playboy in the 1980s and 1990s and was a favourite with women.
The couple divorced in 2004.
Mr Khan's passion for politics was spurred by his renewed commitment to Islam.
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A profile on his party website says: "As a politician, his vision is to turn Pakistan into a just society, based on humane values.
"[He aims to create] an independent and honest judiciary that will uphold democracy, protect human rights and ensure the rule of law."
Mr Khan also hopes to "provide equal opportunity for upward social mobility to the working classes".
Why does this election matter?
This election will mark the second transfer of power from one civilian to another in Pakistan's 71-year history.
The country was been under military rule on and off for a total of 33 years.
Since obtaining independence in 1947, all of 29 of Pakistan's Prime Ministers failed to complete a full term, with four only lasting for one day.
They were booted out of office for a variety of reasons including military coups and assassination.
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Why has it been controversial?
Election campaigns were plagued for months by allegations the powerful armed forces have been trying to tilt the race in Khan's favour.
Military officials had 'fallen out' with the outgoing ruling party of Shehbaz Sharif, who was jailed on corruption charges this month.
Pakistan's military have been accused of interefering in the election results.
Around 371,000 soldiers were stationed at polling stations across the country on Wednseday, nearly five times the number deployed at the last election in 2013.
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Mr Khan's rivals Benazir Bhutto who leads the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Sharif who leads the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, have reported of election rigging.
The PML-N and the PPP both said they recieved hand-written tallies of election counts that officials could not verify, as monitors in many voting centres had not received the official notifications.
PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said: "This whole election could be null and void, and we don't want this."
Mr Shehbaz told a conference on election day: "It is a sheer rigging. The way the people's mandate has blatantly been insulted, it is intolerable."
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