Pakistan election results: Independents win most seats in final tally

The counting of votes in the general elections held in Pakistan was completed on Sunday (Feb 11). Of the total 265 seats, independent candidates won 101 seats, followed by Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) which won 75 seats, and Bilwal Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) grabbed54 seats. The results of the NA 88 constituency have been withheld.

Now the independents have 72 hours to decide on their political status and support. They have three options- either the independents merge themselves and form an entity, or they merge with a party, or they keep on maintaining their independent status.

In this election, most of the independents backed former jailed prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The nation of 241 million people voted on Thursday, but the results were delayed. The interior ministry said the delay happened due to a "lack of connectivity" which it stressed was the result of preventive measures taken to ensure foolproof security.

Protests over delayed results

On Saturday, hundreds of people demonstrated outside the Election Commission office in Karachi against delayed election results and allegations of poll rigging. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami were joined by supporters of PTI in the protest. At least 90 of the victorious independent candidates were backed by Khan and the PTI, a Reuters analysis showed.

Also watch |Who will be Pakistan's next prime minister? Imran-backed independents take lead

Khan's supporters were running as independents because they had been barred from contesting the polls under his party's (PTI) electoral symbol by the election commission for not complying with electoral laws.

The PTI had announced that it would hold peaceful protests on Sunday if complete results were not out. A day earlier, the partychairperson Gohar Khan, called on all institutions in Pakistan to respect his party's mandate.

'Had EVMs been there today...'

Pakistan President Arif Alvi said on Saturday that had Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) been used in the election, there would have been no delay in the results.

"Remember 'our' long struggle for Electronic Voting Machines. EVM had paper ballots that could be counted separately by hand (like it is being done today) BUT it also had a simple electronic calculator/counter of each vote button pressed. Totals of every candidate would have been available & printed within five minutes of closing of poll,"said Alvi in a post on X.

"The entire effort that included more than 50 meetings at the Presidency alone was scuttled," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)