Early Pakistan vote results show rivals neck and neck
The Hindu
Pakistan's political parties tied in early election results due to delays blamed on mobile phone service suspension, amid economic crisis and rising violence.
Pakistan’s main political parties were tied neck and neck in early results on Friday, February 9, 2024 after vote counts in the general election were hit by unusual delays that the government blamed on a suspension of mobile phone services.
The South Asian country is struggling to recover from an economic crisis while it grapples with rising militant violence in a deeply polarised political environment.
An "internet issue" was the reason behind the delay in results, Zafar Iqbal, special secretary at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), said without elaborating.
The government said it suspended mobile phone services ahead of the election on Thursday as a security measure, and they were being partially resumed.
By early Friday morning, the ECP had announced results for 12 of the 265 contested seats in Parliament on its website.
Five were taken by supporters of jailed cricket star Imran Khan who were contesting as independents while four were won by the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N), the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Three seats were taken by the Pakistan Peoples Party of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto.
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