Pakistan Election Results HIGHLIGHTS: ECP orders re-polling on several seats following rigging

The Election Commission of Pakistan ordered re-polling in some polling stations of NA-88 (Khushab II), PS-18 (Ghotki I), and PK-90 (Kohat I) after allegations of rigging, Dawn reported quoting a statement by the poll body. According to an official statement by the ECP spokesperson, re-polling at 26 polling stations of NA-88 after a mob reportedly set fire to polling material at the returning officer’s office. The re-polling is scheduled for February 15.

Declaring that it would form the government both at the centre as well as in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party on Saturday asked the election commission to announce complete results by midnight or face protests in areas where results were still awaited. However, within hours of issuing this statement, party workers at Peshawar and Karachi embarked on loud protests complete with sloganeering and waving of party flags. Springing a surprise, independents backed by jailed former prime minister Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the lion's share of 101 seats in the National Assembly in Thursday's election. Two days after the polling was held, the results were not yet complete and the country appeared headed to a hung Parliament or a coalition government.

Pakistan's Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has said that her country needs “free and fair elections” and urged the elected officials to accept the voters’ decision with grace. The 26-year-old, who became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize when she was conferred the award in 2014, said, “Pakistan needs free and fair elections, which includes transparency in counting votes and respect for the results. I believe today, as I always have, that we must accept the voters’ decision with grace. I hope our elected officials, whether in government or opposition parties, will prioritise democracy and prosperity for the people of Pakistan,” she posted on X.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that his party has yet not engaged in any discussions with PML-N, PTI, or any other political parties over the formation of a coalition government in Pakistan. Speaking to Geo News, he said that PPP would not be able to form a government on its own.

X users across Pakistan reported a disruption of services, reported Dawn, amid the delay in the announcement of final results in the country's general elections.  Several users were outraged over the communication blockage, with Imran Khan's PTI calling it "absolutely shameful".

Imran Khan's Khan's close aide and media advisor, Zulfi Bukhari, told Reuters the party will soon announce the party banner they will ask independents to join, which will be done within the next 24 hours.

As results of some constituencies are awaited, here's where Pakistan elections stand so far:

• Imran Khan's PTI-backed candidates continue to lead as counting underway.
• Nawaz Sharif's PML-N and Bilawal Bhutto's PPP have agreed on a coalition government.
• Both Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif have claimed victory in the elections despite no majority.
• Imran Khan gets bail in 12 cases related to May 9 riots
• Former MNA Mohsin Dawar injured in firing at North Waziristan
• Nation needs healing touch to move on from politics of anarchy, polarisation: Pak Army chief
• Imran Khan to decide next Prime Minister, says PTI leader Gohar Ali Khan

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, addressing a press conference, said party founder Imran Khan will decide who will be the next prime minister of Pakistan, reported Express Tribune.

President Arif Alvi has said that Pakistan could have avoided the crisis stemming from the delay in election results if electronic voting machines (EVMs) were in use, a system strongly backed by Imran Khan's PTI during his tenure.

PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has called on party workers and supporters to hold a protest tomorrow outside the offices of returning officers in constituencies where the poll results were being “withheld and delayed", reported Dawn.

Pakistan's caretaker PM Anwaar-ul Haq Kakar has said that there was no political motive behind communications blackout on the election day, adding that people were able to peacefully exercise their right to vote, according to Dawn.

Pakistan's interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul Haq Kakar anticipates the formation of a coalition government, which he believes will need to be negotiated among political parties, Dawn reported.

PTI chairman Gohar Khan has said there was an “apparent attempt to shape the winning seats of the PTI into defeats”, adding that it was the Election Commission's “constitutional and legal responsibility” to declare polling results by 2 am the next day.

PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Khan has claimed that the PTI has won 170 National Assembly seats out of the 265 where elections were held, reported Geo News.

As per the provisional results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan, Sindh voted overwhelmingly for the PPP, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stayed true to the PTI. Imran Khan's party grabbed 83 out of the 105 provincial assembly seats, Dawn reported.

Mohsin Dawar, former Member of Pakistan's National Assembly, has been taken to a district hospital in North Waziristan after was he was injured in a firing incident there, Dawn reported citing National Democratic Movement (NDM) leader Bushra Gohar.

As all signs point towards a hung parliament in Pakistan, major political parties like Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are likely to rely on independent candidates to secure majority to form the next government. PTI-backed independent candidates have won most seats overall.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) witnessed an increase in their vote bank in the 2024 general elections, according to a report by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). 

Former human rights minister Shireen Mazari has said that the incident in which ex-MNA Mohsin Dawar got injured was“totally condemnable“.

At least three militants and a police officer were killed during a gunfight following an attack on a police mobile van in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday granted bail to jailed former Pakistan premier Imran Khan in 12 cases linked to the May 9 attacks on military installations.

MNA Mohsin Dawar of the National Democratic Movement has been injured in a “firing” incident in North Waziristan’s Miranshah, Dawn reported citing party leader Bushra Gohar.

PTI-backed candidates from NA-47 and NA-48, Islamabad, have challenged election results in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The results were challenged by Shoaib Shaheen and Ali Bukhari, reported the Express Tribune.

Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has led US lawmakers in alleging that the Pakistani military has been "rigging" the just-held general elections to "prop up" its candidate and deny the victory secured by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

As the possibility of a hung parliament in Pakistan approaches, an analyst say a coalition government will still leave the country unstable. "It will be very difficult for the coalition government to resolve the problems of the people of Pakistan," said political analyst Agha Masod Hussain.

Pakistan's foreign office, in a statement on Saturday, said that international comments on the nation's elections ignore the "undeniable fact" of Pakistan conducting elections successfully.

Pakistan's Foreign Office has said it is “surprised by the negative tone of some” of the statements made by certain countries and organisations on the general elections. “These statements ignore the undeniable fact that Pakistan has held general elections, peacefully and successfully, while dealing with serious security threats resulting primarily from foreign-sponsored terrorism,” it added.

The Australian government has said it was “regrettable” that Pakistanis were “restricted in their choice” of voting during the elections, while noting that all political parties "were allowed to contest these elections", as per a statement shared by Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Neil Hawkins.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers have staged protests in Peshawar and Quetta, over allegations of votes being changed, according to Dawn.

Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir on Saturday said the nation needed stable hands and a healing touch to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarisation, which did not suit a progressive country of 250 million people.

Initial official results showing some candidates winning were "overturned" the next day in Pakistan's violence-prone Balochistan province, leading to waves of protests as nearly all major political parties staged sit-ins at district returning offices, reported Dawn.

Imran Khan's party-backed independent candidates secured the largest number of seats in Pakistan's elections, but as the party was denied its electoral symbol and barred from the polls, the candidates could join a smaller party, which would deny Nawaz Sharif's claim of being the single largest party to form the government.

Former PM Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has convened a meeting to discuss forging alliances with other political parties as party-backed candidates won a large number of seats in Pakistan's elections, reported Geo News. This came after its rival PML-N and PPP parties agreed to form a coalition government.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) agreed to form a coalition government in the Centre and Punjab as results of some constituencies continue to trickle in on the third day, the News International reported.

The results of 250 constituencies have been declared by the Election Commission of Pakistan, while those of 15 seats are still pending as the country remains on edge over its political future, according to Dawn.

Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir congratulated the nation on the successful conduct of the 2024 general elections, reported Dawn. “Free and unhindered participation by Pakistani people to exercise their right of vote demonstrated their commitment to democracy and the rule of law as enshrined in Constitution of Pakistan,” an ISPR statement quoted Munir.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have agreed to work together to achieve political and economic stability in the country, Dawn reported. Former president Asif Ali Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Faryal Talpur met with ex-premier and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore on Friday.

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari held a meeting in Lahore on Friday, according to sources within the PPP, reported Dawn.

"The 'London Plan' because of your active participation in the democratic exercise. Nawaz Sharif is a leader of low intelligence who gave a victory speech despite his party trailing in 30 seats," said former PM Imran Khan on X.

Former prime minister Imran Khan’s official account on X has posted an AI-generated victory speech of the incarcerated PTI founder emphasising that the nation’s “unprecedented fightback” has resulted in a landslide victory for his party in the 2024 general elections.

No clear victor has emerged from the divisive elections in Pakistan as the tardy vote-counting process neared completion on Saturday, indicating that the elusive political stability for the cash-strapped country may still be a distant dream.

The United States, Britain and the European Union on Friday separately expressed concerns about Pakistan's electoral process in the wake of a vote on Thursday and urged a probe into reported irregularities.

The results showed independents, most of them backed by Imran Khan, had won the most seats - 98 of the 245 counted by 12:00 am IST. Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 69 while the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari got 51, Reuters reports.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has reported winning 15 seats, Jamiat-e-Ulami-Fazal (JUI-F) 3 and Balochistan National Party (BNP) 2 seats, according to media reports till 11 pm on Friday.

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif won the NA-130 seat from Lahore with 179,310 votes, according to provisional results released by the ECP. The PTI-backed Yasmin Rashid was the runner-up with 104,485 votes.

"We regret the lack of a level playing field due to the inability of some political actors to contest the elections, restrictions to freedom of assembly, freedom of expression both online and offline, restrictions of access to the internet, as well as allegations of severe interference in the electoral process, including arrests of political activists," the EU said in a statement.

"We do not have the majority to form government on our own. So, we will invite other parties to form the government. I have assigned this duty to Shehbaz Sharif," Nawaz Sharif said.

Nawaz Sharif said that he has told his younger brother Shehbaz to reach out to the PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari, JUI-F’s Fazlur Rehman and MQM-P’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui for the formation of a coalition government. “Shehbaz Sharif and Ishaq Dar will hold meetings today,” he was quoted as saying by Dawn.

PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif has said there is a need for all the political parties to sit together and form a government to pull Pakistan out of the difficulties it is presently in. “We can’t hold elections again and again. We were all sitting together yesterday but didn’t address you because the results were not in. All the institutions in this country, every one should together play a positive role in bringing Pakistan out of this crisis. This is everyone’s Pakistan, not just PML-N’s. Everyone should sit in harmony and bring Pakistan out of the difficulties," Dawn quoted Nawaz Sharif as saying.

PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif has said his party respects the mandate of all parties, including the independents. “We are inviting everyone today to rebuild this injured Pakistan and sit with us. Our agenda is only a happy Pakistan and you know what we have done before," Dawn quoted Nawaz Sharif as saying.

“I love you too […] I can see the light and sparkle in your eyes today,” Dawn quoted PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif as saying in a pre-mature victory speech. "We are all congratulating today because in these elections PML-N has emerged as the largest party in the country,” he was quoted as saying.

As per Pakistan media, a tough contest is being seen between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed independent candidates. 

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has alleged that the party-backed Independent candidates who were initially leading in the elections with huge margins were now trailing. PTI workers staged a protest at a counting booth in Bahawalpur.

Election Commission of Pakistan released the provisional results as of 6:55 pm IST.

PTI-backed candidates: 48

Nawaz Sharif's party PML-N: 39

Bilawal Bhutto's PPP(P): 19

JUI-F: 1

Others: 8

PTI-backed candidate Suriya Bibi has made history by becoming the first woman to win the PK-01 seat from Chitral with 18,914 votes, reported Dawn.

With the counting of votes underway in Pakistan's general elections marked by delays, uncertainty looms as to how the next government will be formed as Imran Khan-backed candidates are putting up a tough fight for Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto's parties.

Nawaz Sharif: The elder Sharif experienced a shocking defeat in Mansehra's NA-15, managing 80,382 votes while PTI-backed Shahzada Mohammad Gustasif Khan claimed victory with 105,249 votes. However, he secured victory in Lahore's NA-130 constituency with 171,024 votes.

Shehbaz Sharif: The younger Sharif easily won the NA-123 seat from Lahore with 63,953 votes and also secured the PP-158 seat in Lahore with 38,642 votes.

Maryam Nawaz: PML-N's chief organiser won her first-ever National Assembly seat with 83,855 votes, while PTI-backed Shehzad Farooq came in second with 68,376 votes.

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari: The Pakistan Peoples Party chairman won with a landslide 85,370 votes in Sindh's Qamber Shahdkot (NA-196). However, he lost to PML-N's Attaullah Tarar in Lahore's NA-127, managing little over 15,000 votes.

Fazlur Rehman: The JUI-F chief was defeated by PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur in NA-44 constituency in Dera Ismail Khan, garnering 59,922 votes to Gandapur's 93,443.

Gohar Ali Khan: The PTI chairman filling for imprisoned Imran Khan secured an easy victory in his hometown Buner by achieving 110,023 votes in NA-10 constituency.

Three PTI workers have been critically injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Shangla while protesting against change in the election results overnight, Dawn reported.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) data shows that results of 139 constituencies have been declared, which include 55 independents (mostly supported by PTI), PML-N 43, PPP 35 and other seats going to smaller parties. The ECP started updating results at a faster pace after facing a barrage of criticism by the parties.

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman has alleged that party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s votes have gone “missing” in the NA-127 constituency of Lahore, blaming the blockade of mobile phone services for the “chaos”, Dawn reported.

Independent candidates, mostly backed by former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's PTI, have won 49 seats out of 136 seats counted so far, according to Reuters.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday deplored the delay in the announcement of election results, saying that they should have been commmunicated to ECP returning officers by 2 am. "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," it said on X.

Information Minister Murtaza Solangi has claimed that neither internet services nor social media platforms were blocked yesterday, reported Dawn.

The caretaker government has said the decision to close mobile phone services on the election day was “not an easy decision”, reported Dawn. “We knew there would be noise from every side over the decision, but I would take this decision again if I had to,” Interior Minister Gohar Ejaz said in a press conference.

Results of the National Assembly seats were inaccessible on the Election Commission of Pakistan’s website as of 2:48 pm, Dawn reported. The page resumed functioning after a few minutes.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) data shows that the results of 122 constituencies have been declared, and here is how the main parties are performing in Pakistan's high-stakes elections.

Independents (mostly backed by PTI): 49 
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz: 39
Pakistan Peoples Party: 30

Pakistan's election commission's much-touted new app which was supposed to help officials to quickly tabulate and transmit election results faced significant challenges on Friday as the authorities were moving at a snail's pace to announce the result of the election amid allegations of rigging.

Here are the tallies of all parties in Pakistan's elections, according to Dawn citing Pakistan's Election Commission

PTI-backed candidates: 24 seats
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz: 18 seats
Pakistan Peoples Party: 18 seats
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl): 0
Others: 5 seats

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday said that it is in a position to form government at the Centre and ruled out forging an alliance with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), reported Geo News.

Supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan had the edge on Friday in Pakistan's election, as the party-backed independents won 47 of 106 seats for which it had results, Reuters reported citing Geo News. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had announced 70 official results, with independents getting 24, Nawaz Sharif's party winning 18 and Bilawal Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) getting 18.

PML-N leader Ishaq Dar said that the independent candidates, who are emerging victorious in the 2024 general elections, are in contact with the party, according to Geo News.

PML-N chief organiser Maryam Nawaz said that her party has emerged as the single largest party in the centre and her father Nawaz Sharif will head to party headquarters to make the victory speech.

Islamabad police have registered a case against 30 people for preparing a public meeting of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Bhara Kahu. According to the complaint, at least 25 to 30 persons, 10 to 15 of them armed with weapons, were present at Dhoke Jillani Ground and preparing for the public meeting, according to Dawn.

Former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has won the NA-207 seat from Shaheed Benazirabad with 146,989 votes, according to the provisional results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Sardar Sher Muhammad Rind Baloch, a PTI-backed independent candidate, was the runner-up with 51,916 votes, Dawn reported.

Former finance minister Ishaq Dar said some media channels are “misleading” and “misguiding” the public, adding that the PML-N is currently “the single largest political party”, reported Dawn. 

Hindu candidate Saveera Prakash was defeated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Buner (PK-25) constituency after managing to get only 1,700 votes, as per reports.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party was slightly ahead in early election results on Friday after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced 47 results for the 265 contested seats in the National Assembly. Nawaz's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 17 seats in the National Assembly while candidates of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf clinched 14.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won 12 seats and the rest were won by small parties or non-aligned independents.

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari won from the NA-196 seat in Qamber Shahdadtkot-I with 85,370 votes, according to Dawn. Sardar Sher Muhammad Rind Baloch, a PTI-backed independent candidate, was the runner-up with 51,916 votes.

Former prime minister and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif has won the provincial PP-158 seat in Lahore with 38,642 votes, Dawn reported citing the Election Commission.

UN proscribed terrorist Hafiz Saeed's son Talha Hafiz Saeed lost from Lahore's NA-122 constituency to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidate Latif Khosa, as per media reports.

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's party on Friday claimed victory in the general elections while alleging that results were being delayed to rig the outcome. The PML-N, however, rejected the demand and claimed that it was winning Thursday's elections.

PTI-backed candidate lawyer Shoaib Shaheen has written to the ECP, complaining that results in NA-47 were being "changed in favour of PML-N's Tariq Fazal Chaudhry', reported the Express Tribune.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Gohar Ali Khan has won the NA-10 constietuency in Buner with 110,023 votes, according to the ECP. ANP’s Abdul Rauf came second with 30,302 votes, Dawn reported.

PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz has won NA-118 in Lahore-II with 105,960 votes, according to the ECP, Dawn reported.

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif managed to defeat PTI-backed candidate Yasmin Rashid by 55,981 seats, according to reports.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) (PML-Q) Chaudhry Salik Hussain has won in NA-64 (Gujrat III) with 105,205 votes. Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed  Muhammad Atif has won NA-22 in Mardan II with 114,748 votes and PML-Q candidate Chaudhry Salik Hussain has won in PP-32 (Gujrat-VI) with 55,615 votes.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Sultan Haider Ali Khan has won in PP-20 (Chakwal-I) with 52,450 votes, Dawn reported.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, tipped to be the next premier, faced a shock defeat to rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidate Shahzada Gastasap in NA-15 Mansehra, according to media reports. Nawaz managed to get 63,054 votes, while Gastasap won 74,713 votes.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl's chairman Maulana Fazlur Rehman has been defeated by PTI-backed candidate Ali Amin Khan Gandapur in the NA-44 constituency in Dera Ismail Khan, Geo News reported.

Pakistan's interior ministry said the media and the public’s concerns about the late processing of the results have been reviewed. It attributed the delay to a “lack of communication, which was a result of preventive measures taken to ensure foolproof security”.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief organiser Maryam Nawaz bagged Lahore’s PP-189 seat with 23,598 votes, reported ARY News. PTI-backed candidate Sharafat Ali Khan came second with 21,491 votes.

Jailed former premier Imran Khan's party-backed independent candidates seemed to have sprung a surprise as the results of the general elections in Pakistan started trickling in following unusual delays, leading to allegations of rigging.

At least five policemen were killed and six others injured in terror attacks in Pakistan, where polling for general elections was held on Thursday. 

At least four police officials were killed and six others injured in a bomb attack on a police vehicle in Graha Aslam polling station in Dera Ismail Khan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local media reported. 

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has won the Lahore seat. Counting is underway amid delays.

Pakistan's electoral body announced results from 4 national parliamentary seats, more than 12 hours after polling in a general election ended, data from the Election Commission of Pakistan website showed.

Two of the seats were won by the party of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, while the other two were won by independent candidates.

Independent candidates linked to jailed ex-PM Imran Khan are leading in over 125 seats, local media reported. 

The counting of votes in Pakistan general elections is underway. The polling had concluded on Thursday. Several incidents of violence were reported during the voting at various places across the country.