Highlights: Pakistan: a day of voting punctuated by violence for the legislative and provincial elections. Thousands of polling stations in Pakistan were classified as security sensitive for this day. There was an attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan, where a security personnel's vehicle was targeted by insurgents. There were also bombings and shootings in parts of Balochistan province, including near polling stations. The first estimates will be available in the evening in Pakistan and the official results on Friday February 9.

Thousands of polling stations in Pakistan were classified as security sensitive for this day of legislative and provincial elections. And in fact, the election was marked by…

Pakistan: a day of voting punctuated by violence for the legislative and provincial elections

Thousands of polling stations in Pakistan were classified as security sensitive for this day of legislative and provincial elections. And in fact, the election was marked by new explosions in the province of Baluchistan. Several members of the police were killed.

Election workers mark a voter's thumb with ink at a polling station during elections in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, February 8, 2024. AP - KM Chaudary

By: RFI Follow

From our correspondent in Islamabad

Sonia Ghezali

An anxiety-provoking atmosphere and a climate of frustration too. The day was punctuated by violence. There was an attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan, where a security personnel's vehicle was targeted by insurgents.

There were also bombings and shootings in parts of Balochistan province, including near polling stations. And then there were also irregularities reported here and there. Like in Islamabad where a polling station for women could not open its doors because the voters' lists were not received.

Also read: Pakistan: more than 128 million voters called to vote, internet suspended

In addition, the lack of a mobile telephone network made access to information very complicated for voters. It is for security reasons that the mobile network was suspended, explains the Ministry of the Interior. And

this posed several practical problems for voters. How do you know the address of your polling station and access a means of transport without being able to use your phone? And then how can observers deployed in polling stations be allowed to contact their political parties or the electoral commission to report irregularities?

Official results Friday

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said the suspension of internet services was "

a negation of democracy and the voting process

." Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) speaks of “

infuriating betrayal

” on the part of the Pakistani telecommunications authority.

The country's main private media outlet, Pakistani television news channel Geo News, was on a special program all day, with its flagship anchor also sharing his frustration. "

This will raise many questions about the elections, particularly results if mobile phone services are not restored as this will impact the collection of results, they will not be transmitted on time. We say it again and again on Geo News and all the political parties say it too, mobile phone services must resume because the collection of results will be compromised if this is not done

.”

This suspension of mobile services adds to suspicions of manipulation of the results while 70% of the population “

does not have confidence in the integrity of the elections

”, according to a recent survey. The first estimates will be available in the evening in Pakistan and the official results on Friday February 9.

Pakistan: a day of voting punctuated by violence for the legislative and provincial elections

Pakistan: a day of voting punctuated by violence for the legislative and provincial elections

Official results Friday

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