The Pakistan General Election Commission in Islamabad announced the completion of the counting of general election votes, revealing the victory of 264 candidates out of 266 seats in the federal parliament, while one seat election was deferred and the results of another seat were suspended.
According to Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Islamabad, Shaher Al-Ahmad, the results showed independents winning 101 out of 264 seats, with most of them being supported by the banned party “Tehreek-e-Insaf” led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is currently imprisoned.
The second position was secured by the “Islamic League- Nawaz Group” (led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif) which won 75 seats, becoming the party with the largest number of parliament seats after Imran Khan’s supporters fielded independents.
The People’s Party came in third place with 54 seats, while the United National Movement won 17 seats, with the rest of the political forces winning 17 seats.
The final results were issued more than 60 hours after the end of voting on Thursday, raising questions about the electoral process delay. The Election Commission cited “internet issues” to justify the slow process, raising doubts about the election’s credibility due to authorities cutting off communications and internet services via mobile phones during the voting day.
The winning parties with a significant number of seats are seeking to form alliances to secure the support of two-thirds of parliament members to establish a government.
The “Leaguet Nawaz Group” and the “People’s Party” agreed to form a coalition government “in the middle” and in the Punjab region after the parties’ leaders Shahbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, along with former president Asif Ali Zardari, met.
Sources mentioned that Zardari and Sharif agreed to form a government in the Punjab region and in the “mid” and that both parties will present their views in the next meeting and conclude all matters related to power-sharing arrangements.
The Free Election Network, an independent watchdog organization, reported that almost 60 million out of more than 128 million registered voters cast their votes in the ballot boxes.
The United States, Britain, and European Union countries expressed concerns about the electoral process and called for an investigation into the reported violations.
