Imran Khan's party emerges single largest amid allegations of vote rigging

Imran Khans Pakistan TehreekeInsaf emerged as the single largest party in the National Assembly today with its candidates winning 76 seats and leading in 43 others according to the latest unofficial results and trends in the parliamentary polls amid rival political parties claim of blatant riggingJailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz PMLN won 43 seats and was leading in 20 constituencies while Pakistan Peoples Party PPP led by former president Asif Ali Zardari won 18 seats and its candidates were leading in 19 seatsA single party will need at least 137 of the directly elected seats to be able to form the government on its ownThe Muttahida MajliseAmal MMA an alliance of traditional religious parties such as JamaateIslami Jamiat UlemaeIslamFazl Jamiat UlemaePakistan and TehreekeJafaria and Muttahida Qaumi Movement MQM were leading in eight seats eachIn the eastern city of Lahore capital of Punjab province and the countrys political heartland PTI supporters rejoiced by waving flags and raising party slogans as results trickled in after the voting yesterdayThe Election Commission of Pakistan ECP officially announced the first result at 400am While final results are expected in the coming hours initial outcomes show that the PTI was emerging as the single largest party in the National AssemblyPakistans 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 voteA party can only form the government if it manages to clinch 172 seats in total The two main parties PMLN and PPP have 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 lawPMLN 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 rejected the election results alleging blatant riggingHe did not say who he believes could have rigged the polls but allegations of manipulating the elections have been made against the countrys influential militaryAwami National Party Muttahida Qaumi MovementPakistan PakSarzameen Party Muttahida MajlasiAmal and TehreekiLabbaik Pakistan also alleged that their polling agents were either ousted of the polling stations at the time of counting or denied certified results by the polling staffSome 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 Sharif told journalistsHe has convened a meeting with other parties this evening to discuss the issue and formulate a common strategy We will fight this injustice and use all options he said adding that there has been a blatant violation of the mandateThe ECP rejected the blatant rigging allegations In an unusual press conference early today Chief Election Commissioner Muhammad Raza Khan congratulated the people of Pakistan for participating in the election processHe however acknowledged that the delay in announcement of election results has caused some annoyance He stressed the delay was on account of a new system Results Transmission System introduced by itAsked about the doubts and the allegations he said We will prove ourselves that we did our job rightThese elections were fair and we have not received any complaint If anyone has proof we will take action he asserted Elections were also held yesterday for four provincial assemblies Punjab Sindh Balochistan and KhyberPakhtunkhwaThe provincial trends showed that the PTI was leading in 120 seats in Punjab followed by the PMLN with 119 seats in the provincial assembly of 299 membersIn Sindh the PPP was heading towards a twothirds majority in its traditional bastion The party was leading in 72 seats according to the latest trends available for 113 of the provincial assemblys 131 seatsIn KhyberPakhtunkhwa the PTI was heading towards a twothirds majority with its candidates leading in 67 seats The KP assembly has 99 seatsBalochistan was heading towards a hung assembly Balochistan Awami Party was ahead in 12 seats while MMA was leading in 9 Balochistan National Party was leading in 8 seatsThe election marks the second democratic transition of power in the nations 70year history The military has ruled Pakistan through various coups for nearly half of the countrys history since independence in 1947The run up to the elections had seen a massive crackdown on the media and allegations that the military has secretly backed the campaign of Khan while targeting his political opponentsThe ECP was also criticised for deploying the Army both inside and outside of polling stations Controversy has also arisen over allowing militant groups to participate in the election The leading among them are Mumbaiterror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeedled banned Jamatud Dawas candidates who suffered humiliating defeatsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever