This Week in Explainers: Will Pakistan see a PML-PPP coalition government?

February’s second week was busy. Pakistan went to the polls to elect its 12th national government. As many as 12.7 crore voters were eligible to vote for the members of the national and provincial assemblies.

In the United Kingdom, reports emerged of King Charles being diagnosed with cancer. Buckingham Palace’s announcement came just a month after the 75-year-old monarch underwent a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate.

Electors in El Salvador also cast their franchise this week to elect a president. We will reveal the results of these polls later in the story.

Before we enter the third week of February, here’s a roundup of our weekly explainers. Stay with us till the end to find out if you missed any important developments.

1. Pakistan election results are out. Independent candidates supported by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the highest number of seats overall, while Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) bagged the second spot.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was a distant third.

The results stumped pollsters who had predicted a smooth sailing for Nawaz’s return as the premier for the fourth time. Now, the PML-N supremo is in a huddle with his rival Bhutto Zardari’s PPP and some other parties to form a coalition government. Imran’s PTI has alleged post-poll rigging, claiming that it was winning over 150 seats. The election results have proved Khan’s unwavering popularity among his loyalists who flocked to the ballots to show their support for the jailed former cricketer. As no party has touched the majority mark, what’s next for PML-N, PPP and PTI? Read our explainer to find out.

2. Britain’s King Charles’ cancer news sent shockwaves across the world. Buckingham Palace said the monarch will be suspending public engagements to undergo treatment. Although the palace did not reveal the type of cancer Charles had, it said the disease was discovered during his recent treatment for an enlarged prostate. Prince Harry flew to the United Kingdom on a 26-hour visit to meet his father.

Charles’ diagnosis has brought the limelight on the line of succession to the British throne, with Prince William, his eldest son, topping the list. The British monarch’s health has also reignited the debate about the “cursed” Kohinoor diamond. What is it and how is it linked to King Charles? Read our explainer here to know more.

3. Australians soon will have the “right to disconnect”. Australia’s Senate has passed a Bill that allows workers to ignore unreasonable work calls and messages from their bosses after office hours without fear of punishment. The legislation will go to the House of Representatives for the final nod. While the Bill does not ban employers from contacting workers out of hours, it protects employees from being penalised for tuning out after work hours. What does the rule entail and which other countries have such laws? Here’s our report on the topic.

4. Singapore’s largest lender cut its CEO’s pay by 30 per cent owing to last year’s digital banking disruption. Singapore’s DBS Group slashed its chief executive officer (CEO) Piyush Gupta’s 2023 annual variable compensation by S$4.1 million ($3.05 million). The bank said in a statement that it reduced the variable pay for CEO Gupta and other members of the group management committee to “hold them accountable” for multiple digital disruptions last year. Is it common for CEOs to take pay cuts? Why is the move significant? We explain in our story here.

5. Nayib Bukele claimed a landslide victory in the El Salvador presidential elections for a second consecutive term. Even before the final results were announced, Bukele, standing on the balcony of the National Palace, declared that the country had scripted history. The 42-year-old polls as the most popular president in Latin America. He often changes his handle on X, identifying himself as the “dictator of El Salvador” and the “world’s coolest dictator”. But who is Nayib Bukele? Here’s our report on the unapologetic “dictator” of El Salvador.

6. The 2024 Miss Japan landed in a controversy. Karolina Shiino, a Ukraine-born model with Japanese citizenship, was forced to give up her title. She was the first naturalised Japanese citizen to win the Miss Japan title in Tokyo on 22 January. Her crowning had also divided people in the East Asian country. So, what happened that led her to renounce her title. Read our explainer to find out.

Liked our explainers and want more? Here’s where you shall find them all.