Pakistan elections: Both Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan's parties claim victory, spar over poll data

The Pakistan election faces controversy as both the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) claim victory amid ongoing allegations of fraud.

Team Asianet Newsable

First Published Feb 9, 2024, 11:45 AM IST | Last Updated Feb 9, 2024, 11:44 AM IST

The election battle in Pakistan is headed for a controversial end with both Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) claiming victories. Expectations of a verdict at sunrise fell flat as counting continued on multiple seats amidst allegations of election fraud.

Ishaq Dar, PML-N's Leader of the House in the Pakistani Senate, posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter): "Based on data compiled in PMLN Election Cell and results already in the public domain, PMLN has emerged as the single largest political party in the National Assembly and a clear majority party in Punjab Assembly."

"Premature and biased speculations must be avoided as we await for the official complete results from the Election Commission of Pakistan," he added.

At the same time, Imran Khan's PTI alleged manipulation of the results in the late hours of Thursday night.

In a post on its official handle, PTI said: "Form 45s are the primary source of election results at the lowest level. The votes for each candidate are tabulated at each polling station on Form 45. Copies of these forms have been collected by PTI candidates' polling agents, which show them winning by a large majority."

"According to independent reports, PTI has won well over 150 National Assembly seats & is in a solid position to form government in Federal, Punjab & KP, with a clear majority. However, manipulation of the results in the late hours of the night is an utter disgrace & a brazen theft of the nation’s mandate. The people of Pakistan vehemently reject the rigged results. The world is watching," Imran's party alleged.

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