Pakistan poll: Imran Khan’s party claims win in early results
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Islamabad: Poll results trickling from Pakistan suggest that independent candidates with links to former PM Imran Khan leading in most constituencies, news agency AFP reported.
Pollsters, however, predicted a hung parliament with no parties making it to the majority numbers to form a government.
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was barred from contesting elections alongside having its election symbol of cricket bat cancelled.
Citing local TV channels, AFP reported that PTI-backed candidates won at least three out of the eight seats when results came 13 hours after polling on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) blamed "internet problems" for the delay.
TV stations reported results relying on counting happening at local constituencies.
Delay in declaring results caused dismay with a businesswoman named Ambreen Naz based in Lahore sharing her concern with AFP asking: ‘Why did they take so long? Why not announce results before 1 am?’
‘You know what will happen now? The stock market will open with volatile swings. The dollar will rise and the rupee will fall. All because they delayed the results and made them controversial,’ she was quoted as saying.
PTI chief organiser Omar Ayub Khan expressed confidence in his party making good in the polls.
Ayub Khan hoped that independent candidates backed by PTI will be able to form the next government with two-thirds majority, according to the report.
In the run-up to the elections, pollsters mostly said former PM Nawaz Sharif’s The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of would outperform other parties.
Analysts claimed that the 74-year-old had the support of the Pakistan’s military establishment, which plays a pivotal role in anointing the prime minister.
However, local TV channels reported that Sharif was trailing his opponent candidate in one of the multiple constituencies he contested.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) claimed that the results were ‘very encouraging’ with reports suggesting that the party is performing better than expected.
