Pakistan election results 2024 live: Counting of votes under way
- Pakistan is counting votes in a general election marred by violence by armed groups and a suspension of mobile phone services.
- No official results announced yet by election commission but early returns reported by local media show leads for candidates affiliated with jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party.
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PTI claims it’s heading for victory
In the absence of official results, PTI officials have been claiming the party is heading for victory based on initial returns reported by local media.
“Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed independent candidates have the ability to form the next federal government with a two-thirds majority,” PTI chief organiser Omar Ayub Khan said in a video statement released to media.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari says initial results ‘very encouraging’
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has also commented that results “are incredibly slow coming in” but noted early suggestions are “very encouraging”.
In a post on X, he said PPP candidates and independents backed by the party “seem to be doing well!”
“Let’s see what the final tally is in the end,” he said.
PTI urges supporters to head to polling stations to prevent result ‘change’
Amid the apparent delay, the PTI has renewed its call to supporters to “protect your vote”, urging them to return to polling stations “to get results before they change the results”.
As we’re still waiting for official results, projected figures on all local television channels have been unusually slow coming in. In previous elections, by midnight local time on election day, there was a clearer picture about which party had a substantial lead.
But by midnight this time, most projections on television channels were below 20 percent on each of the 265 seats contested.
A reminder that the election commission has yet to comment in the apparent delay in results.
What next for independent candidates?
We have some more comments from the Stimson Center’s Sahar Khan on the “surprising trend”, as she called it, that shows independent candidates having an unofficial lead early on.
“If they in fact remain independent and are unable to affiliate back with the PTI, or they choose not to affiliate with the PTI, this would be the first time in Pakistan’s elections where independent candidates have led, or are in the majority,” she told Al Jazeera.
“I think this will have an impact on what kind of coalition can be formed,” said Khan, who is the think-tank’s deputy director for South Asia.
“Right now the PTI is leading. Even with independent candidates, my sense is that they might switch back, and I think for many this is very surprising because PTI was not expected to be the leader,” she continued.
“It depends on what the laws end up being; if these independent candidates are able to become PTI again, it would absolutely put PTI in a position where it would be in a good position to form a coalition government.”
More comments from US officials
The US State Department has expressed concerns about steps taken to “restrict freedom of expression” in Pakistan during the elections, citing phone and internet access.
Meanwhile, Congressman Greg Casar said on X that “Pakistanis have the right to elect their leaders without cell phone service shutdowns & other authoritarian practices aimed at undermining election results.
He added that the US “must stand” with the people in Pakistan and “make clear we will not support anyone working to undermine democracy”.
Rashida Tlaib says Pakistani democracy ‘at serious risk’
The US congresswoman has weighed in on Pakistan’s elections, saying the country’s democracy is “at serious risk”.
In a message posted on X, Rashida Tlaib also said Pakistani people “should be able to elect their leaders without interference and tampering with the process”.
The only Palestinian American lawmaker in the US added that Washington “must ensure our tax dollars don’t go to anyone undermining that”.
