Latest Updates on Pakistan Election Results. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the preliminary results of the 2024 Pakistan General Elections in the early hours of Friday, February 9. More than 17 hours after polls closed, results began to trickle in. Voting took place on Thursday amidst intermittent unrest, a nationwide internet blackout, and suspicions of ballot manipulation.

The counting of votes in the Pakistan general election has begun, following the conclusion of voting on Thursday. The election was plagued by a crackdown on the party of imprisoned ex-prime minister Imran Khan. Sporadic violence, and connectivity concerns after the government halted cellphone and internet services to prevent suspected terrorist strikes. The polling began at 8 a.m. and ran uninterrupted until 5 p.m. on Thursday. A nationwide public holiday was established to allow over 12 crore voters to cast their ballots.

The polling percentage is not yet known. After the obligatory one-hour deadline, results from individual voting locations across the country began to stream in. However, it may take a few hours before the full results of any constituency are released. A total of 266 National Assembly seats were up for grabs out of 336. Although voting on at least one seat was postponed when a candidate was killed in a gun attack in Bajaur. Another 60 seats are earmarked for women and 10 for minorities, which are allocated to the winning parties via proportional representation. To establish the next government, a party must win 133 of the 265 seats being contested.

More than nine hours after voting ended

Pakistan’s Election Commission began revealing the results. The National Assembly has 336 seats, with 266 candidates elected through direct voting and the remaining 70 reserved. Among these reserved seats, 60 are set aside for women and 10 for non-Muslims, based on each party’s participation in the Assembly. A simple majority requires at least 133 members, although many analysts believe the election will not produce a clear winner.

1. Initially, former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, representing the PML-N party led by his brother Nawaz Sharif, won the NA-123 seat in Lahore, adding to the party’s tally of 17 seats as of 2:30 pm.
   Despite the PML-N’s result, independent candidates backed by the jailed Imran Khan-led PTI party won 19 parliamentary seats.

2. The PPP, led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, had won 18 seats as of 2:30 p.m., with others winning four.

3. Zafar Iqbal, the special secretary at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), blamed the delay on a “internet issue.” Which resulted in the first official results for a constituency being issued more than ten hours after vote concluded.

4. Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party encouraged people to remove passwords from their personal WiFi networks in a social media post. Hoping to make internet access easier for anybody around.
With counting continuing through the night, a clearer electoral scenario is expected by early Friday.