Imran Khan wins majority of seats in Pakistan’s by-elections

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan won the majority of seats in by-elections on Sunday, building momentum in his campaign to pressure the six-month-old government into calling an early national vote.

Khan contested seven of eight seats and has won six, according to data from the Election Commission of Pakistan. The Pakistan Peoples Party, a member of the ruling coalition, took the other two seats.

While the former leader will have to resign from all but one of the seats he won – and elections will happen again – the sweeping victory shows popular support for his political narrative in the nation of more than 220 million. The former cricket star, who was ousted from power through a no-confidence vote in April, has been holding massive rallies across Pakistan to push for early elections.

“I ask the government and the establishment to respect the will of the masses and immediately announce fresh elections in the country,” Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader of Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said in a tweet. “We are ready to discuss the election framework with the government.”

The political drama comes as Shehbaz Sharif’s government grapples with economic distress. Moody’s downgraded the nation’s credit rating and Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have dipped to the lowest levels in three years. Devastating floods earlier this year have also added to the crisis.