Pakistan Elections: Imran Khan-backed independents lead in final poll count
The party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, was second with 75 seats after Thursday's vote, lacking a clear majority but it was the largest single party in parliament as Khan's independents ran as individuals.
The final results of Pakistan's national election put independents backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan in the lead with 93 of 264 seats. (Source: Reuters)
2/6
The party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, was second with 75 seats after Thursday's vote, lacking a clear majority but it was the largest single party in parliament as Khan's independents ran as individuals. (Image: AP)
3/6
Both of the country's fierce opponents and former prime ministers have declared victory, which has increased unpredictability as the nation faces several pressing issues, including negotiating a new IMF plan to support a faltering economy. (Image: AP)
4/6
A police source said on condition of anonymity that around 300 PTI supporters had blocked the main highway connecting Peshawar to the national capital. Pakistan's interim government said the voting count delay was caused by communications issues due to a mobile internet outage on election day. The outage, which authorities said was for security reasons, drew concern from human rights groups and foreign governments, including the United States. (Source: Reuters)
Notably, Imran Khan's supporters ran as independents because they were barred by the election commission on technical grounds from contesting the polls under his party's electoral symbol. Despite the ban and Khan's imprisonment for convictions on charges ranging from leaking state secrets to corruption, millions of the former cricketer's supporters came out to vote for him, even though he cannot be part of any government while he remains in prison. (Image: Reuters)
6/6
The election commission previously flagged that results for two seats could not yet be included, one in which a candidate was killed, requiring the postponement of polling, and another in which polling would be completed later this month. (Source: Reuters)
