Fraud claims overshadow Pakistan’s vote for new parliament

Islamabad — After an election campaign overshadowed by violence and allegations of fraud, Pakistanis voted Wednesday for a new government that will face challenges of a crumbling economy and ongoing bloodshed by militants whose latest attack saw a suicide bomber kill 31 people outside a polling station.

Official results declaring an outright winner were not expected before late Thursday morning. However, early unofficial results gave cricket star Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Party a commanding lead over his main rival, Shahbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League.

Jubilant Khan supporters danced to the beat of drums at his party headquarters in Islamabad, sensing a victory. The sound of fire crackers echoed in the night sky.

Sharif, the younger brother of disgraced Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been jailed on corruption charges, disputed the election results even before they were announced. He charged fraud and vowed not to accept the results, generating fears that disgruntled losers could delay the formation of the next government.

The parliamentary balloting marked only the second time in Pakistan’s 71-year history that one civilian government has handed power to another in the country of 200 million people. There also have been widespread concerns during the election campaign about manipulation by the military, which has directly or indirectly ruled the country for most of its existence.

“We will sweep the elections,” said Abdul Basit, a supporter of Khan’s, who watched the results on a large TV.

Hours after the polls opened, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated his explosives in a crowd waiting to vote in the southwestern city of Quetta. In addition to the 31 dead, the attack wounded 35 people, said Dr. Jaffar Kakar, a hospital official. No one immediately claimed responsibility, but local officials were quick to blame the Islamic State group.

The attack in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, underscored the difficulties the majority Muslim nation faces on its wobbly journey toward sustained democracy.

MUHAMMAD SAJJAD/AP PHOTO A woman casts her vote at a polling station for the parliamentary elections in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Wednesday. After an acrimonious campaign, polls opened in Pakistan on Wednesday to elect the country’s third straight civilian government in this majority Muslim nation that has been directly or indirectly ruled by its military for most of its 71-year history.