Pakistan Election Results 2018 LIVE News and Updates: Indian Media Made me a Villain, Kashmir Remains Core Issue, Says Imran Khan

The voting started at 8 AM local time and concluded at 6 PM local time with over 10.6 crore registered voters using their voting rights to choose a new prime minister.

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf today inched closer to becoming the single largest party in the country’s general elections by leading on 119 seats in an early count of votes, amid charges of rigging by rival political parties.

In the eastern city of Lahore, capital of Punjab province and the country’s political heartland, PTI supporters rejoiced by waving flags and raising party slogans as results trickled in after the voting yesterday.

The 65-year-old former cricketer’s PTI was ahead in 119 of 272 contested National Assembly constituencies, while its main rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was way behind with 65 seats.

The Pakistan People’s Party was leading on 44 seats while others were ahead in 17 seats.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) officially announced the first result at 4.00am.

While final results are expected in the coming hours, initial outcomes show that the PTI would emerge as the single largest party in the National Assembly.

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. A single party will need at least 137 of the directly elected seats to be able to form the government on its own.

The PML-N and the PPP, both raised questions on the transparency of the vote counting process, alleging their polling agents were not allowed to verify vote counts as is mandated by law.

PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif, who is hoping to become the next prime minister after the jailing of his brother and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a corruption case, outrightly rejected the election results, alleging “blatant” rigging.

He did not say who he believes could have rigged the polls, but allegations of manipulating the elections have been made against the country’s influential military.

Awami National Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan , Pak-Sarzameen Party , Muttahida Majlas-i-Amal and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan alleged that their polling agents were either ousted of the polling stations at the time of counting or denied certified results by the polling staff.

“Some five other parties including the PPP have raised the rigging issue in polls. After consulting them, I will announce the future course of action. Pakistan has suffered today,” he told journalists at a press conference.

“We will fight this injustice and use all options,” he said, adding that there has been a “blatant violation” of the mandate.

The run up to the elections have seen a massive crackdown on the media and allegations that the military has secretly backed the campaign of Khan while targeting his political opponents.

The military has ruled Pakistan through various coups for nearly half of the country’s history since independence in 1947. Even during the civilian rule, the generals have wielded enormous power, setting the agenda for the country’s foreign and security policies.

The ECP was also criticised for deploying the Army both inside and outside of polling stations.

Army chief Gen Bajwa, however, assured that the Army will only perform a facilitative role in the polls and that the polling process is to remain under the control and authority of the ECP.

In the run up to the elections, the country also witnessed a series of deadly attacks targeting candidates and campaign rallies, including one that killed 151 people in Balochistan.