Imran Khan makes Pakistan by-elections a 'referendum' by contesting seven seats

Former prime minister is seeking to raise pressure on the government for early elections following his removal by parliament in April

Imran Khan, former prime minister and head of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, campaigns in Karachi for parliamentary by-elections on October 16. EPA

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan is contesting seven of eight national assembly seats in a by-election on Sunday that he says is “a referendum” on his popularity.

The by-election is the latest twist in political wrangling that began after Mr Khan was removed from office in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence on April 10.

People will go to the polls as the Pakistan grapples with the aftermath of devastating monsoon floods that affected more than 30 million people and put a third of the country under water.

Candidates can stand for more than one seat in Pakistan elections. If they win more than one, they choose which one to keep, and a separate vote must be held for those forfeited.

It is unusual for a candidate to stand for as many seats as Mr Khan is doing on Sunday.

“This is not just a simple election, it's a referendum,” he told a rally on Friday in Karachi, the bustling port city in the south of the nation of 220 million.

Reaction to Imran Khan's removal — in pictures

Mr Khan has held dozens of rallies since being removed, drawing crowds of tens of thousands, and has vowed soon to announce the date of a “long march” of his supporters on the capital, Islamabad.

He is demanding that the coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif calls an immediate general election rather than wait until October next year.

“If he wins most of the seats, he will press the government more,” political analyst Hassan Askari Rizvi said.

“But the government will reject the election call, claiming it doesn't reflect the national will.”

Mr Khan has scored a string of recent by-election victories, with his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party seizing control in July of the state assembly in Punjab, the country's most populous province.

He has, so far, also emerged largely unscathed from a series of court cases against him and his party.

Pakistan's courts are often used to tie up lawmakers in long proceedings that human rights monitors have criticised for stifling political opposition.

Mr Khan blames the current government for soaring inflation, although most analysts agree Mr Sharif inherited the country's economic woes.

Flooding this summer displaced eight million people and caused, at least, an estimated $28 billion in damage.

The UN has spoken about a “second wave” of catastrophe, with the risk that deaths from waterborne disease and malnutrition will outstrip the 1,700 drowned and electrocuted in the floods.

Mr Khan rode to power in 2018 on a populist platform promising social reforms, religious conservatism and fighting corruption, overturning decades of rule by two feuding political dynasties interspersed with military takeovers.

But, under his tenure, the economy stagnated and he lost the support of the army, which was said by his opponents to have helped to get Mr Khan elected.

Sunday's polls take place in eight constituencies of three provinces — three each in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Mr Khan's party holds sway, and two in Sindh.

“This is indeed a litmus test of his popularity provided elections are held in a free and fair atmosphere and they are not rigged,” said Imtiaz Gul of the Centre for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad.

“If he wins the majority of the seats, that will again be a testimony to the success of his narrative that he has built since his exit from power and that will obviously bring more pressure on the government.”