MONITORING (SW) – Supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan had the edge on Friday in Pakistan’s election results from over 100 seats, local media said, after vote counts were hit by unusual delays that the government ascribed to a suspension of mobile phone services.
Geo News said independents, who mostly owe allegiance to Khan, had won 47 of 106 seats for which it had results. A total of 265 seats were contested in Thursday’s election.
By 0800 GMT, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had announced 70 official results, with independents getting 24.
The Pakistan Peoples Party of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, also got 24 while former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 18.
The rest were won by small parties.
Khan is in jail and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was barred from the election, so his supporters contested as independents.
Analysts have predicted there may be no clear winner, adding to the woes of a country struggling to recover from an economic crisis while it grapples with rising militant violence in a deeply polarised political environment.
“A timely announcement of the results, leading to a smooth formation of a new government will reduce policy and political uncertainty,” Moody’s Investors Service said. “This is crucial for the country that is facing very challenging macroeconomic conditions.”
The delay in the announcement of results was unusual for elections in Pakistan. Karachi’s stock index and Pakistan’s sovereign bonds fell because of the uncertainty.
An “internet issue” was the reason behind the delay, Zafar Iqbal, special secretary at the ECP, said without elaborating.
The government said it suspended mobile phone services ahead of the election on Thursday as a security measure, and they were being partially restored.
The main battle was expected to be between candidates backed by Khan, whose PTI won the last national election, and the PML-N of Sharif. Khan believes the powerful military is behind a crackdown to hound his party out of existence, while analysts and opponents say Sharif is being backed by the generals.
Sharif, considered by many observers to be a strong candidate, has dismissed talk of an unclear result but a close aide, Ishaq Dar, told GEO TV that the party could form a coalition with the support of independents.
“I am confident that we will form a government,” Dar said.
