Pakistan's Sharif free to rule without unwieldy coalition KHAN TO FORM COALITION IN PAKISTAN PROVINCE

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif won enough seats in Saturday's parliamentary election that he won't need to form a coalition with other major parties to push through badly needed reforms, final figures showed.

Sharif's Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) won 124 of a total 272 seats, with its nearest rival, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), winning 31, in the country's first democratic handing over of power since independence in 1947.

To achieve the required majority of 137, he need only secure support from a handful of like-minded independents.

The outgoing PPP-led coalition, formed after the previous election in 2008, faced continued threats of defections when it confronted unpopular decisions, part of the reason for its lack of success.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the party led by former cricketer Imran

Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrike-Insaf (PTI) is set to form a coalition government in the militancyhit Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province with the support of the Jamaat-e-Islami and Qaumi Watan Party.

After a spell of infighting within Khan's party, the coalition partners have agreed on Pervez Khattak as the candidate for the post of Chief Minister.

The candidature of Khattak, the secretary general of the PTI, was opposed by a faction led by Asad Qaiser, another leader of the party.

The leaders of the three parties claimed they had the support of 64 legislators in the 124-member assembly and would face no problem in forming government.

The parties also decided on a formula for allocating ministries. Khattak on Thursday said the details about the distribution of portfolios were yet to be decided. Following an outcry from the public, the PTI dropped plans to allocate the key education and Khan, took 27 seats, making it Pakistan's third-largest party. It held just one in the last election.

The new government will have its hands full with problems ranging from chronic power shortages, a near-failed economy, a Taliban insurgency and building relations with the United States and arch rival India.

"Top-most amongst these chal- finance portfolios to the Jamaate-Islami.

He said the new government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would be an example for the other provinces of Pakistan.

"We have formed the alliance only to solve the problems of the people and to bring about an improvement in health and education. We want the KhyberPakhtunkhwa government to be a role model for other provinces," he said.

Northwestern Pakistan is on lenges include external support to avert a balance-of-payments crisis, carrying out difficult structural reforms, and balancing diplomatic relations with the U.S.," Moody's Investors Service said.

"The new government will inherit the effects of overall policy inertia. And it is uncertain as to whether it will use its power to adopt policies the frontline of the Taliban insurgency and suffers near daily bombings and terrorist attacks.

A key route that will be used for moving military gear during the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan runs through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the adjoining tribal belt.

Khan has called for an end to military operations and for peace talks with militant groups, including the Taliban. that will help shore up a weakening external payments position and reforms that would boost economic growth," Moody's said.

"It is worth noting that the previous civilian government which served out its full term had been unable to come to grips with these same challenges." There will be recounts or re-polling in 11 con- stituencies where there were "law and order" concerns, accusations of vote rigging or, in two seats, deaths of candidates, the Election Commission said, adding that the polls had been the most successful in the country's history.

Khan, recovering in hospital after a fall from a fork-lift taking to him an election campaign podium, has given the commission three days to investi- gate vote rigging, failing which his party would launch protests across the country, media said.

But accusations of vote rigging were the norm, commission deputy director Khurshid Alam said on Thursday.

"In 2008, there were more than 300 complaints. This time, there were only 53," he said. "This election is the most transparent and good."