Pakistan is all set to go to the polls today. The electoral battle has primarily focused on the contest between the parties of Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif, another ex-prime minister.
With an economic crisis, an increase in terrorist attacks, and tense ties with its neighbours, Pakistan is ready for today's elections. In Pakistan's parliamentary system, candidates run for office in both the province and national legislatures.
128 million Pakistanis out of a population of 241 million are eligible to vote - all those above 18. Polling booths will open from 8 am to 5 pm, but time can be extended in exceptional individual circumstances.
In order to represent their constituency, voters will select two legislators: one at the federal and one at the provincial levels. 12,695 candidates are running for the provinces, while 5,121 are running for the federal assembly.
There are four main candidates that people should pay attention to: Asim Munir, the head of the military; Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister; Imran Khan; and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the youngest contender.
Nearly 650,000 security personnel have been deployed nationwide as authorities were busy setting up polling stations to enable more than 12.85 crore registered voters to cast their ballot in the general elections.
Additionally, Pakistan suspended mobile phone services nationwide Thursday for election day, the interior ministry said, citing the need to “maintain law and order”. “It has been decided to temporarily suspend the mobile service across the country,” a ministry spokesman said in a statement.
According to media reports, Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is expected to emerge as the single largest party, with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari coming in a distant second, followed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and other parties.
While all of the surveys that have been done so far have projected the PML-N's approval rate, which has increased since Nawaz Sharif's return, in an optimistic light, none of them have predicted how many seats the party would likely win.