Pakistan goes to the polls
July 25, 2018 10:30
In the world outside Mumbai, Pakistanis are voting today to choose a new prime minister.
Nearly 106 million people are registered to vote for members of the lower house of parliament and four provincial assemblies. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, 3,459 candidates are contesting for 272 general seats of the National Assembly, while 8,396 candidates are running for 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies - Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The voting started at 8 am local time in more than 85,000 polling stations. The counting of votes will be done on the spot soon after the conclusion of the polling process at 6 pm and results will be announced within 24 hours.
More than 30 political parties have fielded their candidates for the elections. The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, is looking to unseat the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which was formally led by the now jailed ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is also in the race. Shahbaz Sharif, the president of the PML-N who is hoping to become the next prime minister of Pakistan, was among the first people to cast his vote in Lahore.
"Just cast my vote. High time that all of you came out to vote for Pakistan's progress and prosperity. May this election be a source of peace and stability for the nation!," he tweeted after casting his vote.
For a smooth polling process, the ECP has deployed around 1.6 million staff at polling stations across the country. About 449,465 policemen and over 370,000 military personnel have been deployed for security. In a special message yesterday, Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Sardar Raza Khan urged voters to fulfil their national duty of casting the ballot.
A public holiday has been declared across the country on Wednesday in order to facilitate the voting process. Pakistan's National Assembly comprises a total of 342 members, of which 272 will be directly elected today whereas the rest -- 60 seats reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities -- are selected later through proportional representation among parties with more than five per cent of the vote.
A party can only form the government if it manages to clinch 172 seats in total. The run up to the elections have seen a massive crackdown on the media and allegations that the military has secretly backed the campaign of Khan while targeting his political opponents.
The military has ruled Pakistan through various coups for nearly half of the country's history since independence in 1947. Even during the civilian rule, the generals have wielded enormous power, setting the agenda for the country's foreign and security policies. -- PTI
Image: Daughters of Benazir Bhutto -- Bakhtawar and Aseefa -- after casting their vote in Sindh's Nawabshah.
Nearly 106 million people are registered to vote for members of the lower house of parliament and four provincial assemblies. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, 3,459 candidates are contesting for 272 general seats of the National Assembly, while 8,396 candidates are running for 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies - Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The voting started at 8 am local time in more than 85,000 polling stations. The counting of votes will be done on the spot soon after the conclusion of the polling process at 6 pm and results will be announced within 24 hours.
More than 30 political parties have fielded their candidates for the elections. The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, is looking to unseat the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which was formally led by the now jailed ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is also in the race. Shahbaz Sharif, the president of the PML-N who is hoping to become the next prime minister of Pakistan, was among the first people to cast his vote in Lahore.
"Just cast my vote. High time that all of you came out to vote for Pakistan's progress and prosperity. May this election be a source of peace and stability for the nation!," he tweeted after casting his vote.
For a smooth polling process, the ECP has deployed around 1.6 million staff at polling stations across the country. About 449,465 policemen and over 370,000 military personnel have been deployed for security. In a special message yesterday, Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Sardar Raza Khan urged voters to fulfil their national duty of casting the ballot.
A public holiday has been declared across the country on Wednesday in order to facilitate the voting process. Pakistan's National Assembly comprises a total of 342 members, of which 272 will be directly elected today whereas the rest -- 60 seats reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities -- are selected later through proportional representation among parties with more than five per cent of the vote.
A party can only form the government if it manages to clinch 172 seats in total. The run up to the elections have seen a massive crackdown on the media and allegations that the military has secretly backed the campaign of Khan while targeting his political opponents.
The military has ruled Pakistan through various coups for nearly half of the country's history since independence in 1947. Even during the civilian rule, the generals have wielded enormous power, setting the agenda for the country's foreign and security policies. -- PTI
Image: Daughters of Benazir Bhutto -- Bakhtawar and Aseefa -- after casting their vote in Sindh's Nawabshah.
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