Imran party on the front foot
lahore — The Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) of former cricket hero Imran Khan maintained lead as unofficial results poured in from across Pakistan after the day-long polling, marred by a bloody suicide bombing, closed at 6pm.
Gallup Pakistan estimated turnout at between 50 to 55 per cent in an electorate of nearly 106 million. The voter turnout in the key province of Punjab was 55 per cent.
Early results showed the PTI leading in 75 National Assembly constituencies against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) of ousted premier Nawaz Sharif, which lead in 51 seats.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) headed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari — son of slain prime minister Benazir Bhutto — was a distant third, leading in 27 constituencies. Independents were ahead in 25 seats, while the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) lead in 11 constituencies. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan were ahead in just five.
TV reports showed election workers sorting through massive piles of paper ballots at polling stations across the country. There were more than 19 million new potential voters, including millions of women and young people. The contest largely became a two-way race between the PTI and the incumbent PML-N.
Election researcher Azeema Cheema said the contest was “too competitive to call”, with the most populous province of Punjab likely to be the key following fierce campaigning in battleground areas there.
Khan, 65, cast his vote in Bani Gala, a suburb of the capital Islamabad, telling the media it was “time to defeat parties which kept this country hostage for years”.
In Lahore, rival Shahbaz Sharif called on Pakistanis to “get out of their homes and... change the fate of Pakistan” before casting his own vote and flashing a victory sign.
But other voters in Lahore, capital of Punjab and traditionally a PML-N stronghold, said they were abandoning the party in favour of the PTI.