Vote counting begins in Pakistan, clear picture expected early Friday

Counting of votes began in Pakistan following conclusion of the polling on Thursday in an election marred by crackdown on jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan's party, sporadic violence and connectivity issues after the government suspended mobile and internet services to foil suspected terror attacks.

The polling started at 8.00 AM and continued without any break till 5.00 PM. A countrywide public holiday was declared to enable more than 12 crore voters to cast their ballots. The time for voting ended but the people present inside the premises of the polling stations were allowed to cast their votes. The polling percentage is not yet known.

 

The results of individual polling stations have started to pour in from across the country after the mandatory one hour restriction elapsed. But it may take a couple of hours before the complete result of any constituency is available.

In total 266 National Assembly seats were up for grabs out of 336, but polling was postponed on at least one seat after a candidate was killed in a gun attack in Bajaur. Another 60 seats are reserved for women and 10 for minorities, and are allotted to the winning parties based on proportional representation.

A party must win 133 seats out of 265 being contested to form the next government.

Nawaz Sharif, the 74-year-old three-time former premier who is eying the premiership for a record fourth term, has expressed confidence that his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party would win elections.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said it has resolved 76 poll-related complaints, which were received throughout the day.

According to the ECP spokesperson Haroon Shinwari, most of the complaints were of a normal nature involving confrontations between political workers in different areas which were resolved on the spot.

Soon after the voting started, mobile services in Pakistan were suspended due to the "deteriorating security situation", a day after twin terror attacks killed at least 30 people in Balochistan province.

Despite the suspension of cellular and internet services, a large number of people across Pakistan exercised their right to vote to elect lawmakers for national and provincial assemblies - on 855 constituencies.

Amnesty International criticised the decision to suspend mobile phone and internet service on the day of election, calling it "a blunt attack on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly".

"Amnesty International calls on the Pakistan authorities to urgently lift the blanket restrictions on access to the internet, it said in a statement on X.

There were reports of the voting process facing delays at certain polling stations across the country.

Four policemen on election duty were killed in a terror attack in Dera Ismail Khan on Thursday. A security officer was killed after gunmen opened fire at soldiers in the Tank area of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.

Nearly 650,000 security personnel have been deployed across the country to conduct peaceful elections.

With former prime minister Imran Khan in jail, Sharif's PML-N is tipped to emerge as the single largest party in the elections.