Amid reports of clashes and delays, mainstream political parties such as the PPP, Jamaat-i-Islami and PTI have urged the Election Commission of Pakistan to take notice of rigging at polling stations across the country.
In Karachi, the PPP claimed ballot papers were snatched from the electoral staff in the PS-105 constituency. The JI also alleged that MQM-P workers tried to sabotage voting at multiple polling stations. Videos circulating on social media also showed masked men entering polling stations in the metropolis.
From Balochistan, Akhtar Mengal wrote a complaint to the ECP, saying that the station house officer of Quetta had taken “900 votes”.
Similarly, former lawmaker Mohsin Dawar alleged “large-scale rigging” was underway in North Waziristan’s NA-40 (Tappi).
In Punjab, PTI-backed candidate for Sialkot Rehana Dar said the returning officer had refused to give her Form 45.
After five hours of vote counting, an intriguing battle is unfolding in several constituencies: Yasmeen Rashid versus Nawaz Sharif in NA-130, Afzal Hafeez Pahat against Shehbaz Sharif in NA-123, and Rehana Imtiaz Dar against Khawaja Muhammad Asif in NA-71.
As per unofficial and unconfirmed results from specific polling stations until 10:30pm, the following outcomes have been reported:
NA-123: Shehbaz Sharif leads with 16,154 votes, while Afzal Azeem Pahat trails behind with 15,893 votes.
NA-248: PTI-backed independent candidate Arsalan Khalid is ahead with 1849 votes, followed by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui with 241 votes.
NA-67: Aniqa Mehdi, backed by PTI, holds the lead with 23,008 votes, while Saira Afzal Tarar of PML-N trails with 19,391 votes.
NA-119: Maryam Nawaz is currently leading with 869 votes, with Shehzad Farooq trailing behind with 438 votes
NA-19: Asad Qaisar is ahead with 16,167 votes, followed by JUI-F’s Maulana Fazl Ali Sharif with 8,824 votes
NA-71: Khawaja Asif is ahead with 8,773 votes, followed by Rehana Imtiaz Dar with 8,524 votes.
PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s daughter Meher Bano Qureshi, running as an independent candidate, is leading in the vote count for NA-151 (Multan) with 26,236 votes, according to unofficial results.
The runner-up right now is PML-N’s Abdul Ghaffar with 18,558 votes. He is 7,678 votes behind Meher Bano, PTV reports.
According to Geo News, PTV and Dawn News, at least 61 per cent of the polling stations completed their count at around 10:45pm.
The PTI has claimed that election results across the country are being delayed after Imran Khan’s candidate emerged victorious.
“There are reports of closure of the screens in the offices of returning officers in several circles,” PTI’s Omary Ayub alleged in a video message on social media platform X.
He warned that attacks on the people’s mandate through a “closed-door conspiracy” or tampering would have negative consequences. Ayun urged PTI workers to stay at polling stations and only leave until they were provided with Form-45.
“The election commission should ensure the immediate release of the results instead of facilitating the scandalous process of tampering with the election results,” he added.