Pak’s voting day takes violent turn, 35 dead
TEST FOR DEMOCRACY IS hits Quetta poll booth, early leads put Imran in front
ISLAMABAD: Amid violence that left at least 35 people dead and 44 injured, Pakistan voted on Wednesday in a tense general election in which cricketerturned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-insaf (PTI) is bidding to snatch power from jailed former prime minister Nawaz Shareef’s Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N).
Trends emerging from counting centres, reported by local news channels, said Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) was leading in 94 parliamentary seats while the party’s main rival Pakistan Muslim Leaguenawaz (PML-N) was ahead on 53 seats in the initial round of counting, as of press time.
Bilawal Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was leading in 32 seats, an indication that he could play kingmaker in case of a hung verdict in the National Assembly.
Thirty-one people, including five police officers, were earlier killed in an attack by a suicide bomber near a polling centre in the western city of Quetta. Security officials said the bomber drove his motorcycle into a police vehicle. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Four people died in other violence during an election that will lead to only the second civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country’s 70-year history.
The voting began at 8am local time in more than 85,000 polling stations and ended at 6pm. The results of the election to choose 270 members of the National Assembly and a total of 570 members to four provincial assemblies will officially be announced on Thursday. Nearly 106 million people were registered to vote in the elections.
Surveys ahead of the elections showed none of the top three parties — the PTI, PML (N) and the PPP— winning a majority, triggering fears of horse-trading to form a government after results come in. Pakistan’s powerful military, which has ruled for much of the nation’s history, has faced accusations during the campaign of intimidating critics and reporters to elect a pliant government. The military has denied the allegations.
Shehbaz Sharif, the PML-N president and Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother, who is hoping to become the next prime minister, was among the first to cast his vote in Lahore. Nawaz Sharif was jailed this month on corruption charges. He is appealing his conviction.
“Just cast my vote. High time that all of you came out to vote for Pakistan’s progress and prosperity. May this election be a source of peace and stability for the nation!,” Shehbaz Sharif tweeted.
Khan, the celebrated former cricketer turned anti-corruption crusader, had the momentum heading into the election, and is seen as the military’s top choice for prime minister despite his denials.