Pakistan election – live: Imran Khan’s PTI calls for protest amid concerns of fraud in inconclusive polls

The Lahore-based Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has said it “deplores” the delay in announcing the election results. In a statement posted on X, it said: “HRCP deplores the delay in announcement of #election results, which, under Rule 84 of the Election Rules, should have been communicated by the returning officers to the @ECP_Pakistan by 2 AM this morning and made public shortly thereafter.

“If, under the Rules, the returning officers had incomplete results by this time, they were legally bound to tell the ECP why, also indicating which vote counts were still awaited. This lack of transparency is deeply concerning. Moreover, we see no plausible reason to attribute this delay to any extraordinary circumstances that might justify it.”

At the moment, PTI-backed independents are in the lead with PML-N and PPP close behind.

Baqir Sajjad, Pakistan fellow at the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank, wrote on X: “What’s happening in Pakistan with election results is unfortunate. The escalation of discontent does not paint a promising picture for the country’s future. It’s saddening to witness deliberate efforts to intensify these feelings for petty interests.”

With results slowly trickling in, analysts say the past two years of political turmoil show the Pakistani military’s grip on power is as tight as ever. Shweta Sharma reports:

Pakistan’s minister of information, Murtaza Solangi said on Friday that internet services were not blocked in the country on 8 February despite cyber watchdogs claiming that mobile phone services and internet access were disrupted across the country on Thursday.

“The suspension of internet services was not introduced in Pakistan […] it has happened in the US, Britain and even our neighbouring country,” he stated. “No one has fought terrorism as much as we have,” he was quoted as saying by Dawn.

Pakistanis headed to the polls to elect a new parliament on Thursday in a race that essentially boils down to top few parties:

Despite a crackdown against one of its most popular parties and doubts over the role of the powerful military establishment, there is an air of anticipation regarding Pakistan’s election. Arpan Rai reports:

The Lahore-based Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has said it “deplores” the delay in announcing the election results. In a statement posted on X, it said: “HRCP deplores the delay in announcement of #election results, which, under Rule 84 of the Election Rules, should have been communicated by the returning officers to the @ECP_Pakistan by 2 AM this morning and made public shortly thereafter.

“If, under the Rules, the returning officers had incomplete results by this time, they were legally bound to tell the ECP why, also indicating which vote counts were still awaited. This lack of transparency is deeply concerning. Moreover, we see no plausible reason to attribute this delay to any extraordinary circumstances that might justify it.”

At the moment, PTI-backed independents are in the lead with PML-N and PPP close behind.

Baqir Sajjad, Pakistan fellow at the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank, wrote on X: “What’s happening in Pakistan with election results is unfortunate. The escalation of discontent does not paint a promising picture for the country’s future. It’s saddening to witness deliberate efforts to intensify these feelings for petty interests.”

As candidates backed by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party have taken a shocking lead, Maya Tudor, associate professor at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford believes a win for PTI-backed candidates would be remarkable.

“A win would be remarkable. The odds were stacked against Khan. The military used every tool in the toolbox to weaken the power of the PTI party, from banning their cricket bat symbol to an internet blackout on voting day,” she was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

“But even if PTI-backed candidates can win, the road ahead is rocky. A shaky economy, conflict on almost every border, and soaring inflation, which is being felt everyday by ordinary Pakistanis.

“If there is no clear winner, the uncertainty will add to these woes.”

Results from over half the constituencies in Pakistan are in and independent candidates backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan have won the most seats so far.

Of the 136 seats that have declared as of Friday evening, of a total 235 contested, 49 seats were won by independent candidates backed by Khan’s PTI party, a Reuters tally of results declared by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) showed.

Trailing closely in second was former premier Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 42, while the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, have 34.

Almost 24 hours have passed since the Election Commission announced the end of voting. Initially expected in the small hours of Friday morning, the results have been unusually delayed, as the authorities blamed technical issues for the delay.

Analysts are predicting the problems will mount for Pakistan and its economy if the election does not result in a clear majority for anyone.

There are concerns that things will become particularly tricky given Islamabad’s request for a new bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the current arrangement expires in three weeks.

A coalition government “would probably be unstable, weak” and “the big loser... will be the army. Because the army really has staked its reputation on its ability to deliver this vote”, said Marvin Weinbaum, director of Afghanistan and Pakistan studies at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

The election was expected to help resolve the crises Pakistan has been dealing with but a fractured verdict “could very well be the basis for even deeper exposure to forces which would create instability”, he said.

Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N candidate and former prime minister who was the favourite to come out of this election leading the country, has lost his Mansehra constituency seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reported Geo news.

While Sharif secured 80,382 votes, the PTI-backed independent candidate Shahzada Mohammad Gustasif Khan claimed victory with 105,249 votes, the report added.

Sharif will still enter parliament as an MP however, having won another seat he contested in Lahore. Under Pakistan’s election rules, individuals can contest multiple seats and elect the one they want to represent if they win in more than one.