World Politics Updates : Early results from Pakistan’s vote counting will soon be available. The count is now ongoing. Pakistan held elections earlier today to choose the country’s next prime minister. At least eleven parties are vying for votes, according to Pakistan’s Dawn, but Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Bilawal Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) are most likely to face off in the primary.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan is fielding independent candidates in the elections following the country’s Supreme Court upholding the election commission’s decision to strip his party of its distinctive cricket “bat” symbol. Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N is expected to become Pakistan’s single largest party now that Imran Khan is in prison.
During the poll, internet services were shut down nationwide by Pakistani authorities. Later on, though, the Interior Ministry announced that some areas of the nation have seen a partial restoration of cell phone service. In Karachi and Malir, the internet services have not yet been restored.
Senior Election Commission of Pakistan official Haroon Shinwari stated that results from urban areas will begin to come in around 10 p.m. (17:00 GMT). However, by morning, the majority of the findings would be accessible.
Although there are 342 seats in the National Assembly of Pakistan, only 266 of those seats are up for direct election. Six seats are reserved for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and 70 seats are designated for women and religious minorities from throughout the nation. The top 141 seats out of 266 are located in Punjab, followed by 61 in Sindh, 45 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 16 in Baluchistan, and 3 in the Capital Territory of Islamabad.