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Pakistan General Election 2018: Vote count begins

Dunya News

Polling started at 8am and continued till 6pm in the evening without any break.

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Voting for the landmark 2018 general elections has been concluded on Wednesday across the country during which the voters  exercised their right to vote to elect 270 members of the National Assembly and a total of 570 members of four provincial assemblies for the next five-year term (2018-2023).

There was a public holiday today so that the people could cast their vote without any hindrance.

National and provincial assemblies seats

Of the 272 seats of National Assembly, election held on 270 seats. polls on two National Assembly constituencies have been postponed.

As regards the four provincial assemblies, election conducted on 570 seats against the total tally of 577.

Over 12,500 candidates are in the run for the seats of National and provincial assemblies. According to the electoral rolls, 105.96 million voters are eligible to cast the vote. Of these, 59.22 million are male and 46.73 million are females.

As per ECP record, 59.22 percent of the registered voters in Pakistan are males while only 46.73pc are females.

Number of polling stations

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has set up 85,307 polling stations across the country. Around 20,000 polling stations have been declared sensitive and CCTV cameras have been installed inside and outside all the sensitive polling stations.

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The polling started at 8am in the morning and continued till 6pm in the evening without any break. It is the first time that the polling time has been extended by one hour for the convenience of voters from 5pm.

VIDEO: 17000 polling stations declared sensitive, says Secretary ECP

ECP has issued special directives to the polling staff according to which senior presiding officers have to serve the same duty as that of assistant presiding officer (APO). He was authorized to sign form 45 and 46.

Chief Election Commissioner visits polling station in NA-62 Rawalpindi

In case of any error, both presiding and senior officer will be held accountable.

The senior officers are designated to notice whether the vote has been cast in ballot box or not. It is better that the APO keep the CNIC of voters with himself until the vote casting procedure completes.

Security arrangements

Pakistan Army has deployed troops across the country in respective areas of responsibility to provide mandated assistance to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for holding free, fair and transparent Elections 2018.

Also Explore - In pictures: Goodwill gesture voters and security forces showed for each other

According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the troops coordinated with other law enforcement agencies and local administration for ensuring safe and secure environment on the polling day.

At least 450,000 policemen and three hundred thousand army troops were deployed while as many as 750,000 polling staffers were performing duty .

The Commission appealed the nation to come out on the polling day and exercise their legitimate right to vote for strengthening the democracy.

No prime minister in the country’s history has ever completed a full five-year term in office. If this election goes smoothly, it will be the second civilian to civilian handover of power after a full term. The first was in 2013.



An old disabled man leaving the polling station after casting his vote in Lahore

In the four provinces and at the centre, the fight will mainly be between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is also expected to pick up seats across the country, as is the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of right-wing religious parties.

Prominent personalities cast vote

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar has cast his vote in NA-130 while PTI Chief Imran Khan has arrived in NA-53 to become part of polling.

CJP Saqib Nisar casts vote

Talking to media, Imran Khan appealed the nation to vote for the future of Pakistan, adding that Indian media adores Nawaz Sharif. I am loyal to my country, not money, he said.

PTI chief claimed that international media is propagating about rigging in elections. I will play till the last ball, he continued.

Ex-PM Nawaz Sharif’s mother reached Islamia College Railway Road to cast her vote in NA-124 where Shehbaz Sharif’s son Hamza Shahbaz is contesting the elections.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and his wife cast their vote at polling station number 45 in PP-11 constituency, Rawalpindi. In a media talk, COAS said that the citizens should defeat enemy with the power of their vote.

Former Chief Minister of Punjab and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif has cast his vote in NA-130.

Ex-president and PPP co-chairam Asif Ali Zardari and his daughters Benazir Bhutto’s daughters Bakhtawar and Asifa have also exercised their voting right.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar has cast his vote in NA-245 while former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair reached his polling station in NA-244. Ex-PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has also used his right to elect his favorite candidate.

Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also took to the Twitter and posted his picture, stating democracy is the best revence.

Clashes between political parties

Face-off between Abid Sher Ali and woman presiding officer in polling station No. 376, NA-108 stopped polling. PML-N leader claimed that the woman voter was barred from casting the votes.

Faisalabad: Polling in NA-108 stopped

At least one killed killed while two others sustained severe wounds in firing between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Awami National Party (ANP) workers in NA-19 Swabi. The wounded people have been shifted to nearby hospital for medical assistance.

In Larkana, four workers were injured as cracker blast hit election campaign of PPP in NA-200. According to the local management, the polling has been halted in the area. 

Firing between the supporters of independent candidate and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party in Chaman’s PB-23 injured two people. The workers also pelted stones at each other.

Three army personnel among four embraced martyrdom in an attack on officers deployed at NA-271, confirmed Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).  The victims were immediately shifted to the hospital for medical assistance.

Another unfortunate incident happened in Quetta where FC personnel accidentally opened fire that killed one voter.

Blast near polling station in Quetta

At least 31 people including policemen were killed in a blast near Tameer-i-Nau polling station in Quetta. The attack occurred near eastern bypass. DIG Cheema remained safe in the attack.

Polling Day: Several injured in Quetta attack

Security officials and rescue teams arrived at the crime scene after the blast. The area has been cordoned off and a search operation has been launched.

ECP refuses to extend polling duration

ECP has rejected the demand of PML-N and AML to extend the polling time by 1 hour as voting process is quite slow and there are long queue outside the polling stations. 

The polling will be concluded at 6pm.

 ECP’s notice against media talks

ECP has taken notice of media talks of political leaders on polling day as code of conduct violation. The commission has stated that action will be taken against PTI Chief Imran Khan, PML-N leaders Shehbaz Sharif and Khawaja Asif.

Notices have also been issued to media houses for airing the media talks of politicians. ECP has directed all the channels to refrain from such violation or action will be taken against them. 

Notices sent to Imran Khan, others over violation of code of conduct

ECP official said that complaints regarding improper distribution of polling material and non-availability of polling staff have been received so far. However, 90 percent of them has been addressed.

 

Election code of conduct was also breached in Lahore as a voter carried his mobile phone inside the polling booth and recorded the video of him casting vote.

Rigging allegations

More than 20 suspects have been arrested from parts of country including Karachi for allegedly being involved in rigging. The security officers said that investigation from them is underway.

Police detained voter near Alfalah polling station in Karachi and seized fake blank forms. He was apprehended on the identification of the presiding officer.

Women vote for Pakistan

Millions of female voters are heading towards polling stations to cast their votes as Pakistan goes for its 11th general elections, paving the way for the second democratic transition.

Amid Election Commission of Pakistan’s hope that country may mark maximum turnout in what appears to be tightly-contested elections, some history-making events are also taking place in the conservative areas where women are usually not allowed to take part in an activity outside their homes.

In Khushab, women voters from NA-93 Ghagh Kalan exercise their right to franchise as first instance in the constituency s electoral history. They had not cast vote before for 70 years.

Meanwhile in North Waziristan, females boycotted the polling process as no woman polling agent was present at the booths. They said that they cannot cast vote due to the deployment of male staff at polling station.

Rain and zealous voters

On the other hand, the monsoon rains have continued to lash different localities in the country including Lahore, Gujranwala and Phalia.

The voters have refused to step back and expressed their enthusiasm to elect their favourite leaders for next five years despite bad weather. They said that the rain cannot stop them from voting.

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