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Sunday, March 17, 2024

Pakistanis wake up in Naya Pakistan

News Analysis |

According to unofficial results Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf is leading the polls with 114 National Assembly seats. Imran Khan is to address the Nation, today, at 2 pm “in celebration and recognition of the massive support received from the people of Pakistan in the 2018 elections which was a contest between the forces of good and evil”.

While PTI supporters celebrate the dawn of Naya Pakistan, the other leading parties, MQM – PPP and PMLN, are skeptic of the results. Military interventions, “military favoritism”, rigging, suspicious vote count delays have darkly clouded the 2018 General Election’s result. The Election Commission of Pakistan Secretary, while addressing the delay, said the results will be shared as soon as they are in. “We want to give you accurate results and we will have them as soon as they are in.”

Khan’s party spokesman, Fawad Chaudhry, tweeted “Congratulations to the nation on a new Pakistan! Prime Minister Imran Khan”, although his party has officially held off on declaring victory.

Last night at a conference, PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif said his party rejects the poll results. In a tweet, he said the party had rejected the results “due to manifest and massive irregularities”.

Read more: Post election behaviour: Burying the hatchet

“Today, we thought that the elections would allow people to act with their free will … but when polling ended, and after that what we saw happen, I think that I have never seen anything as horrific as this in my political career,” Shehbaz told reporters in Lahore.

Shehbaz Sharif further accused the Election Commission of Pakistan of failing its responsibility to conduct fair and free elections. “A serious blow has been dealt to the democratic process of the country,” tweeted Sharif.

Read more: Karachi: Who is going to win, why and how much?

Bilawal Bhutto, who for the first time contested elections, had concerns of rigging and miscount being occurred in constituencies of his party’s stronghold of Sindh province. In a tweet, last night, the young Bhutto stated,

Imran Khan has been silent regarding the reports of his victory, unlike PMLN in 2013 General elections who made a victory speech even before the official results came out, garnering suspicion.

Imran Khan’s Vote Disqualified

Pakistan Election Commission has issued a notice to PTI chairman Imran Khan saying his vote could be disqualified after he cast his ballot in front of television cameras, violating “the secrecy of the ballot paper”.

“Today I urge all of Pakistan to get out and vote; just vote for any party,” he told reporters. “This is the most important election in this country’s history. It’s an opportunity to defeat the status quo,” Imran Khan told reporters in Islamabad where he had casted his vote.

ECP’s Official Results

According to the official results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan, PTI has won 10 seats, PPP 2 and PMLN 2. All television channels have reported slightly different results, however with PTI in lead. State-owned television PTV portrayed.

 

Will Naya Pakistan fill up to its Name? 

Excitement is ablaze among PTI supporters and party members. However, keeping in mind the promises made about Naya Pakistan and the reforms promised in the impressive manifesto, will Imran Khan and his party deliver all what they promised?