Monday 20 / May / 2024
Islamabad: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) party is leading the polls, winning four of the eight parliamentary seat results declared by early Friday.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan People's Party secured one seat, while independents claimed the remaining three.
Independent candidates liked to jailed Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, the winners of the last election, are outperforming expectations by leading in many constituencies, the AFP news agency reported, citing local news reports.
Khan's party has been barred from participating in the election as a bloc, but individuals endorsed by his party entered the race as independent candidates.
The main competition is expected between the candidates supported by imprisoned Khan's PTI party and Sharif's PML-N, reportedly backed by the military.
Pakistan's vote count following their national election on Thursday was marred by delays, leading the Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday moring to order returning officers to speed up the release of results.
By 3 a.m. local time (2200 GMT, Thursday), more than 10 hours after polls closed, only four provincial assembly results had been announced.
The delay has been blamed on "internet problems" after the closure by authorities of internet and phone access during the day.
The Interior Ministry said communications outages were "to maintain law and order" after two explosions on Wednesday by the "Islamic State" killed 28 people.
Pakistani voters went to the election polls on Thursday, but the day was marred by violence and the suspension of communication services.
Mobile phone services across Pakistan were suspended during polling hours, with the Interior Ministry citing the need to "maintain law and order." In a statement, a ministry spokesman said, "It has been decided to temporarily suspend the mobile service across the country."
Supporters of jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan told DW that the authorities shutting down internet and phone access was a ploy to dissuade them from voting for him — a claim Pakistan’s caretaker government denied.
Pakistani voters showed themselves undeterred by very cold weather in several parts of the country, even while the threat of violence is highlighted by the tens of thousands of troops deployed across the country. However, pollsters predicted a low turnout from the country's 128 million eligible voters.
Highlighting the risks of voting, at least 12 people, mostly security officials, were killed in numerous militant attacks aiming to disrupt the elections, the Pakistani military said. The attacks occurred in at least 51 places in Pakistan’s volatile southwestern and northwestern regions that border Afghanistan and Iran, a statement said.
