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More than 100 candidates in the Pakistani general elections, most of them independent, announced their objection to the results that have come out so far, considering that fraud occurred during the counting of votes.

Among them is Muhammad Shoaib Shaheen, a candidate for the Federal Parliament who is affiliated with former Prime Minister Imran Khan and a leader of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Shaheen told the media that as of 11 p.m. yesterday, he was ahead of his competitor Tariq Fazal Chowdhury by more than 50,000 votes, but the result would change when it was announced in the morning. Today, Friday, in favor of his competitor, who was declared the winner of the general parliamentary seat from Islamabad.

The General Election Commission in Islamabad is still counting voters’ votes (Al Jazeera)

PTI party spokesman Raouf Hassan accused the authorities of tampering with the election results, saying that the votes were “stolen.”

Hassan told Al Jazeera that the candidates supported by his party were in the lead from the beginning and by significant margins throughout last night when the votes were being counted, adding that the authorities deliberately slowed down the announcement of the results in the early hours of the morning, then the announcement stopped completely and the matter remained that way for a few hours so that the surprise would be in the morning when the situation changed. He pointed to a decline in the results of some people affiliated with his party, accusing the authorities of tampering with the results, and warned of the consequences of that.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Friday, local time in Pakistan, the Pakistani General Elections Commission announced the results of 149 seats in the Federal Parliament out of 266, which are expected to be fully announced this evening.

Workers at the General Election Commission in Islamabad, with a large billboard showing the election results in the background (Al Jazeera)

Preliminary results

Independents, most of whom are affiliated with the PTI - whose leader Imran Khan is in prison - won 61 seats.

While the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sharif party won 48 seats, the People's Party (led by Blair Bothu Zardari) was declared the winner of 33 seats, and the rest of the parties together won 7 seats. There are 124 seats remaining, the votes of which are being counted and the winner announced.

Pakistan has faced several challenges during the past two years, as it is experiencing a stifling economic crisis, and lacks political stability after the overthrow of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in April 2022, in addition to serious security challenges, as violence in several regions caused the deaths of more than a thousand people during the year. the past.

It is expected that the elections will result in a parliament and then the formation of a government capable of facing all these challenges.

Observers and those interested in Pakistani affairs say that if the elections do not result in a clear majority for any party, addressing the multiple challenges facing the country will be difficult.

The results of the elections will lead to the formation of a parliament and then a government capable of facing Pakistan’s challenges (Al Jazeera)

Safe mode

In a press conference held by Pakistani Interior Minister Gohs Ijaz in Islamabad on Friday afternoon about the electoral process, he praised the course of the process and said that it took place in generally safe conditions, and that the country had only witnessed limited incidents that were controlled and did not affect the course of the elections in general. .

He stressed his transitional government's keenness to ensure that the elections are fair, and that their results are sound, command everyone's confidence, and are far from any kind of manipulation.

Pakistani Interior Minister Gohar Ijaz (center) during a press conference today about the course of the electoral process (Al Jazeera)

Fears

Tehreek-e-Insaf party spokesman Raouf 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.

Source: Al Jazeera