2024-02-09 07:58:42
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The counting of votes for the Pakistan General Election held yesterday (Thursday, February 8) is currently underway and the results are being declared.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, there is a tough competition between the parties of Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan.
Pakistani media reported that the Election Commission has declared provisional results for about 63 constituencies. Results for more than 200 constituencies are yet to be declared.
The Election Commission of Pakistan said that out of 51 constituencies counted so far, Nawaz Sharif’s ‘Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’ (PML-N) party has won 17 constituencies.
Independents who contested with the support of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan won 14 seats, the Election Commission said.
Bilawal Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has won a total of 12 seats so far, while the rest have been won by smaller parties or independents not affiliated with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), according to news agency Reuters.
The country’s newspapers commented that it was surprising that the candidates supported by Imran Khan won the elections.
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Cell phone connections and internet facilities were suspended by the authorities during the election
The election was held amid controversy
Pakistan’s election concluded yesterday (Thursday, February 8) amid much controversy. Millions of people voted in this.
Cell phone connections and internet facilities were suspended by the authorities during the election. The Ministry of Home Affairs said that this step is necessary to prevent incidents of terrorism.
The election comes nearly two years after former prime minister, cricketer and politician Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote.
Many analysts termed the election as Pakistan’s most unreliable election. The party of Imran Khan, who was jailed on corruption charges last year, criticized the internet suspension as an ‘act of cowardice’.
Image source, EPA
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Nawaz Sharif
Who is this Nawaz Sharif?
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to win the Lahore constituency after five years of leaving Pakistan.
In 2019, he was allowed to apply for bail on health grounds. He was convicted of corruption and banned from public office for life.
Five years later, he returned home from London and was allowed to contest elections against the party of his imprisoned arch-enemy, Imran Khan.
Sharif is no stranger to political comebacks. After the military overthrew his second term in 1999, he became prime minister for a record third term in 2013.
Image source: Reuters
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Imran Khan
A captive and dominant Imran Khan
Imran Khan continues to be an irresistible force in the polls despite being barred from contesting. According to projections, his PTI-backed independent candidates are ahead in 47 of the 101 parliamentary constituencies.
For some, Khan is a revolutionary hero. To his opponents, he is power-hungry and corrupt.
He was forced out of parliament by his opponents in 2022, just four years after winning the election. Former cricketer Imran Khan is now facing over 170 cases including corruption and terrorism charges. He says this is a politically motivated attempt to oust him from the polls.
But he still has considerable support. Tens of thousands of people protested across Pakistan the night he was ousted from power.
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