PTI leader Imran Khan
The counting of votes is underway in Pakistan for electing the new government in the country.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was leading on 114 parliamentary seats on Thursday morning while its main rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was ahead on 63 seats, according to ARY News.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of former president Asif Ali Zardari was leading on 41 seats, a sign indicating that he could play a ‘kingmaker’ in case of a hung parliament, according to media reports.
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) - an alliance of traditional religious parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami led by Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl headed by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan led by Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani and Tehreek-e-Jafaria led by Allama Sajid Naqvi - was leading on 09 seats.
Pakistan’s National Assembly comprises a total of 342 members, of which 272 are directly elected whereas the rest - 60 seats reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities - are selected later through proportional representation among parties with more than five per cent of the vote.
A party can only form the government if it manages to clinch 172 seats in total.
According to the Election Commission, 3,459 candidates are in the race for 272 general seats of the National Assembly, while 8,396 candidates are running for 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies - Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. More than 30 political parties have fielded their candidates for the elections.
Watch: Will Imran Khan be the next PM of Pakistan?
July 25 Updates:
09:50 pm: Counting of votes underway, Imran Khan’s PTI leading on 73 seats, PML-N on 49
09:20 pm: Imran Khan's PTI leading on 64 seats, PML(N) on 46
05:30 pm: 34 people killed, 36 others injured in several incidents of violence across country
02:57 pm: PTI chief Imran Khan casts his vote near his house in Islamabad. Imran Khan's PTI is in direct contest against Nawaz Sharif's PML-N. Many political commentators have been said that Imran Khan has good chance of becoming Pakistan's next prime minister.
01:44 pm:
12:11 pm: Balochistan: 31 killed, several injured in blast in Quetta's NA-260 constituency during voting. Casualties feared to rise.
11:58 am: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority has directed private satellite TV channels to stop airing any content related to the 11th general election.
11:45 am: Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief and Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed casts his vote at a polling booth in Lahore.
11:35 am: At least two people have been killed and 16 others injured in election-related violence across Pakistan, Express Tribune reported.
11:33 am: Several injured in a blast near eastern bypass in Balochistan's Quetta, reports in Pakistani media said.
11:05 am: Members of transgender community are not being allowed to cast their vote in male polling stations in Lahore, reports The Dawn.
10:15 am: Karachi police arrest a man who was trying to enter polling station in Bihar Colony, say media reports.
10:03 am:
09:44 am: Reports in Pakistani media say there is a power outage at at several polling stations in Peshawar. The Election Commission of Pakistan had asked authorities to ensure uninterupted power supply at polling booths.
09:25 am: Unavailability of voting ink delays voting at Jacobabad polling station. Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan has said that it is looking into media reports regarding voting being delayed at several polling booths across the country.
09:01 am:
08:55 am: "Don't waste time," Shehbaz Sharif tells voters at polling station as he arrives to cast his vote.
08:00 am: Voting for 11th general elections on Pakistan begin. Poll booths will remain open till 6 pm.
There are 85,307 polling stations across Pakistan and more than 11,000 candidates are vying for 270 seats in parliament and 570 seats in four provincial assemblies.
In the previous elections, PML-N, led by former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, emerged as the largest party with 166 seats out of a total of 342 in the National Assembly.
