When Imran Khan on Thursday claimed victory following one of Pakistan’s most bitterly-fought general elections, it marked the culmination of more than two decades of hard and often fruitless political campaigning.
But even if the former cricket star faces no further hurdles to becoming the country’s prime minister, two immediate crises are likely to temper any euphoria he will feel at reaching the country’s highest office.
The first is the fight for his own legitimacy. After an election campaign overshadowed by accusations of political interference on Mr Khan’s behalf by Pakistan’s powerful intelligence services, opposition parties on Thursday claimed that the fraud on polling day was even worse.