More than 125 million voters headed to polling booths on Thursday as Pakistan voted for a new government. Polling commenced at 8:00 a.m. and went on until 5:00 p.m. Vote counting started immediately after the polls closed.
Nearly half of the eligible voters were under the age of 35. More than 5,000 candidates competed for the 266 directly elected seats within the 336-member National Assembly, of which only 313 were women.
Initial Trends
Unofficial results on TV channels indicate claims of victory by candidates supported by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Khan, who was detained on corruption allegations in the previous year, was ineligible to run in Thursday’s election. Consequently, his political party, PTI, had to present its candidates as independents.
These contenders were in direct competition with the political faction led by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif. Two years ago, Khan was ousted through a vote of no confidence, leading to his replacement by Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz’s younger brother and president of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz party (PML-N).
Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of the late PM Benazir Bhutto and a member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), stated that the early results for his party were “very encouraging.”
🧵 Thread highlighing the National Assembly constituencies won by PTI’s nominated candidates, as per the data received in Form 45s.
— PTI (@PTIofficial) February 9, 2024
Form 45s are the primary source of election results at the lowest level.
The votes for each candidate are tabulated at each polling station on the…
Rigging and Intentional Delay
The delay in result announcement has prompted allegations that the election has been marred by rigging and intentional delays in result announcements. Reuters observed that, in past elections, it was more evident which party was leading by midnight local time on election day.
Zafar Iqbal, the special secretary at the Election Commission of Pakistan, attributed the delay to an “internet issue” as he announced the initial official results for a constituency.
Both calls and data services were halted just 10 minutes before voting commenced on Thursday, although wifi networks remained operational. Earlier, the government cited attacks disrupting the vote as the reason for suspending mobile services, a move acknowledged by the military, reporting at least nine casualties.
Consequently, many voters in Lahore reported difficulties in booking taxis due to the internet blackout, hindering their ability to reach polling stations. The PTI criticised the internet cut as a “cowardly act,” emphasising the challenges faced by voters. Similarly, Zardari also condemned the shutdown, urging an immediate restoration of services.
While the country has previously restricted internet services for information control, such a comprehensive shutdown, especially during an election, is unprecedented.