ADDS CLAIMS BY PTI CHAIRMAN ABOUT POLL RESULTS; RESULTS OF 2 SEATS
By Islamuddin Sajid and Aamir Latif
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan’s chief election commissioner said Thursday that the results of national and provincial elections are being compiled and will be announced “as soon as possible.”
"I am sure our returning (polling) officers will compile and transmit the results as soon as possible," Sikandar Sultan Raja said in a video message, congratulating the nation for the "successful" holding of elections.
His message came after political parties said the results were coming in “slow.”
"Results are incredibly slow coming in. However, initial results are very encouraging! PPP candidates and independents whom we have supported/engaged with seem to be doing well! Let’s see what the final tally is in the end," Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari wrote on X.
Syed Zulfi Bukhari, a senior leader of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, said "counting is being stopped and results are being changed at many places! Mainly Punjab.”
“This is the second half of counting & the point when manipulation takes place while PTI is clearly leading. Is the world watching?" he said on X.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan claimed his party was leading in more than 150 seats.
"Today was the most important day in the democratic history of Pakistan. I thank the people for voting in large numbers," Khan said in a video message.
Alleging that the process of receiving the results was delayed, Khan said "the Election Commission is legally bound to announce the (results of the) elections by 2 a.m. (Pakistan time)."
"(Pakistan) Tehreek-e-Insaf will establish governments with a decisive majority, God willing!" he added.
A party needs a simple majority of 169 seats in the 342-seat parliament to form the national government.
Pakistan follows a parliamentary form of democracy where the lower house elects the prime minister, who himself must be a member of the National Assembly.
The four provincial assemblies elect their respective leaders, or chief ministers, in the same way.
The election commission announced the winners of two seats in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly.
Two independent candidates, Samiullah Khan and Fazal Hakeem Khan, who are backed by the PTI, were declared the winners.
Earlier, millions of eligible voters cast their ballots in the general election to elect a new government for the next five years amid heightened security and the suspension of cellphone and mobile internet services. The polling day witnessed several bombings which resulted in at least 12 deaths.