Pakistan is counting votes during a general election that has been hampered by violence by armed groups and a ban on mobile phone services. Over 128 million individuals were registered to vote for representatives of the National Assembly and the nation’s four provincial legislatures.
Key highlights so far:
- Initially, former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, representing the PML-N party led by his brother Nawaz Sharif, secured victory in the NA-123 seat from Lahore, contributing to the party’s total of 18 seats.
- Despite PML-N’s performance, independent candidates who were backed by the imprisoned Imran Khan-led PTI party won 23 parliamentary seats.
- The PPP, led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, managed to win 18 seats as of 3 pm, while others won four seats.
- Zafar Iqbal, the special secretary at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), attributed the delay in announcing results to an “internet issue,” which caused the first official results for a constituency to be announced more than ten hours after polling closed.
- Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party urged people to delete passwords from their personal WiFi networks through a social media post, with the goal of facilitating internet access for anyone nearby.
- By early Friday, a clearer electoral landscape is expected due to the ongoing counting process throughout the night.
Pakistan election 2024: Live results
| Party | Seats |
|---|
| Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) | 5 |
| Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN) | 4 |
| Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) affiliates | 5 |
| Others | 0 |
How voting works in Pakistan
Every voter has the option to vote twice — one for the National Assembly and the other for the provincial assembly.
The National Assembly comprises 336 seats – 266 to be decided through direct voting, while 60 seats are reserved for women and 10 for minorities which are allotted on the basis of 5 percent proportional representation in the federal parliament.
To form the government, a party or coalition must have 134 seats.
Breakdown of national seats
The constituencies underwent a delimitation process based on the results of the national census conducted in 2023. The boundaries of several constituencies were modified and the number of seats decreased from 272 to 266.
- Punjab: 141 seats
- Sindh: 61 seats
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 45 seats
- Balochistan: 16 seats
- Islamabad Capital Territory: 3 seats
Who are the leading candidates to be Pakistan’s next prime minister?
A crackdown on the biggest opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and its leader, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has raised concerns that the elections will not be free and fair. Here are the major parties in the country:
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN)
Nawaz Sharif, who has served as prime minister three times, returned to Pakistan in late 2023 to take on the position of party head. Since 2017, several cases of corruption that led to his dismissal as prime minister have been dropped. Shehbaz Sharif, his younger brother, briefly served as prime minister in an alliance with key opposition parties to remove Khan as prime minister in April 2022. If the PMLN forms a government, it is unclear which brother might become the PM, but Nawaz will likely hold the strings either way.
- Seats won in 2018: 64
- Seats won in 2013: 126
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the scion of the Bhutto dynasty. He will be leading his party after serving as foreign minister for a short period after Khan’s removal as PM in 2022. His campaign, which is one of the youngest mainstream politicians, emphasizes climate change, gender equity in the economy, and promoting civility among parties. From 2008 to 2013, his father, Asif Ali Zardari, served as Pakistan’s president and his grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, served as prime minister.
- Seats won in 2018: 43
- Seats won in 2013: 34
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
The opposition PTI party is led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan. He is currently in jail for corruption and leaking state secrets. After being removed from office in 2022, he led protests against the country’s powerful military. He was disqualified as a candidate because of his conviction in a corruption case. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and most of Pakistan’s most influential province, Punjab, have been under the rule of his party for the past decade and most of the past five years.
- Seats won in 2018: 116
- Seats won in 2013: 28
