Pakistan Elections 2024: Early Results Awaited as Counting Begins, Internet Services Snapped in Karachi

Counting of votes in Pakistan is now underway after polling was held across the country to elect the new prime minister. The main contenders in this election are Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Bilawal Bhutto-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Several other parties are also partaking in the race, making it a highly anticipated contest.

Imran Khan‘s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates are participating in the polls independently, following the Supreme Court‘s decision to deprive his party of its iconic election symbol, the cricket ‘bat’. Due to Imran Khan’s imprisonment, experts predict that Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N is likely to emerge as the single largest party in Pakistan.

During the election, internet services were temporarily suspended across the country by the authorities. While mobile phone services have been partially restored in some areas, internet services are yet to be reinstated in Malir and Karachi.

Haroon Shinwari, a senior official of the Election Commission of Pakistan, stated that the results will begin pouring in from urban areas after 10 pm (17:00 GMT), with the majority of the outcomes expected to be available by the morning.

The National Assembly in Pakistan consists of 342 seats, but direct elections are held for only 266 of those seats. The remaining seats are allocated to women, religious minorities, and former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The highest number of seats, 141, are in Punjab, followed by 61 in Sindh, 45 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 16 in Baluchistan, and three in the Islamabad Capital Territory.