Observers at Imran Khan's party office in Islamabad follow the election results (French)
Independent candidates supporting the currently imprisoned former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan topped the results of the parliamentary elections that took place in Pakistan yesterday, Thursday, according to the results of unofficial polls broadcast on local television channels at dawn on Friday.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which Khan leads, was banned from running in the elections as a party, but the informal poll, the results of which were broadcast on local television channels, showed that independent candidates, including dozens of those chosen by his party, are leading in most electoral districts, whether in the federal parliamentary elections or parliamentary elections. Regional.
12 hours after the polls closed, the Electoral Commission published the results for only 4 seats, and attributed this delay to “internet problems.”
The Pakistani Elections Commission announced, through statements on its website, the results of 4 seats, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sharif party winning two of the seats, while two independent candidates won the other two seats.
Election results were delayed by more than 12 hours amid fears of fraud (Anatolia)
Fraud concerns
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan has asked polling officials to announce election results within the next 30 minutes or prepare to face strict action against them as allegations of rigging grow.
Polling stations closed at five o'clock local time (12 GMT), and the delay in announcing the results exacerbated fears of fraud.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party spokesman Rauf Hassan asked the Election Commission to ensure that the results were not tampered with, otherwise “we will not accept them.”
It was expected that the Pakistan Muslim League, led by Nawaz Sharif, would win the largest number of seats in the elections, as analysts confirm that the 74-year-old former prime minister concluded an unannounced agreement with the army to return to the premiership.
But local television channels said that the Muslim League's performance in the elections was poor, and even Nawaz Sharif himself lagged behind his competitor in the electoral district in which he ran.
Polling stations opened their doors yesterday, Thursday, to select 266 deputies in Parliament from among 5,121 candidates, and to select 593 deputies in regional parliaments from among 12,695 candidates.
More than 128 million voters are entitled to participate in the 12th general parliamentary elections, and the next government will be formed by the party that receives the support of two-thirds of the representatives.
These elections are taking place amidst security and political tensions, and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, leader of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was absent from participating in the elections due to a judicial decision preventing him from practicing political work for 5 years.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that 48 people were killed, including security personnel, and dozens were injured, in violent incidents that took place on Thursday and during the past days.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies