New Delhi: With results coming in at a snail’s pace, all political parties except Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) voiced their displeasure. Sharif, a former prime minister, currently leads opinion polls, winning four of the eight seats announced by early February 9.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party secured one seat, while independent parties won the remaining three seats.
Independent candidates associated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed Prime Minister Imran Khan, winner of the last election, are leading in many constituencies by better than expected. Mr. Khan’s party is prohibited from participating in elections as a bloc, but individuals supported by the party have entered the race as independent candidates.
After initial post-poll trends showed PTI doing well, many results were “frozen” overnight. By 3 a.m. on February 8, more than 10 hours after voting ended, only four state legislative results had been announced. The delay was blamed on “internet issues” after authorities shut down internet and phone access during the day. Pakistan’s interior ministry cited the fact that 28 people were killed in two explosions by ISIS two days earlier as the reason for the closure.
In the editorial, dawn “The move left thousands of voters unsure where their polling stations were, as ECP’s 8300 SMS service could only operate on mobile networks,” the newspaper reported. The decision not only violates court orders requiring uninterrupted internet connections during voting, but also raises obvious questions about how cutting communication channels will deter terrorism. ”
Once vote counting resumed, Nawaz’s PML(N) began winning seats in Punjab, where it had lagged behind.
The Election Commission of Pakistan this morning ordered the reinstated officers to expedite the declaration of results.
Voters in Pakistan went to the polls on Thursday, but the day was marred by violence and the outage of communications services.
Pakistani voters remained undeterred by the frigid weather in some parts of the country, despite the threat of violence highlighted by tens of thousands of troops deployed across the country. However, pollsters predicted that turnout among the country’s 128 million voters would be low.
(With input from DW)
