Pakistan Election Results 2018 LIVE: EC Rejects Rigging Allegations, Blames Results' Delay on 'First Time System'

What Does Pakistan's Dawn Newspaper State This Morning About Pakistan Election Results | In a role-swap with the PML-N, prime minister front-runner Imran Khan appears to be all set to emerge as the leader with enough resources at his disposal to form a government without ‘unwanted’ allies. He must start with a self- assurance that those who are disputing the results now do not have the stamina or the critical backing that had enabled him to sustain a protest campaign — which had its origins in PTI’s grievances against poll rigging — for five long years, today's Pakistan's Dawn Newspaper states.

RECAP: Imran Khan Leading in Lahore | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI's) Nawaz Khan has won the election in Battagram by bagging 21,200 votes. Khan was followed by Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal's (MMA's) Mohammad Yousuf, who attained 16,789 votes. PTI Chairman Imran Khan was leading the polls in Lahore with 8,033 votes. Khan was trailed by PML-N heavyweight Khawaja Saad Rafique, who has so far attained 7,644 votes, according to Geo TV.

As Imran Khan-led PTI Claims Victory, Sharif Calls Elections 'Dirtiest Polls in Pakistan History' | At his midnight press conference, Sharif said that "these were the dirtiest polls in Pakistan's history." "This is a horrible situation which I have never seen in my 30-year political career...The results of several constituencies have been withheld where PML-N candidates were winning. We will not accept this." PML-N senator Mushahid Hussain Syed too raised similar doubts on the election results. "This is the first time in Pakistan's history that five political parties have called a foul play in the polls and termed them massively rigged," he said. Shortly after the allegation were made, ECP secretary Babar Yaqoob said the Result Transmission Service failed after results of 25,000 out of 85,000 polling stations were uploaded. He too rejected any wrongdoing in the election and said "the issue of fraud can be discussed after ECP announces the results." However, the Imran Khan-led PTI claimed victory. Sensing victory, hundreds of PTI supporters came out on streets in jubilation. They parked their vehicles in the middle of roads, played loud music and danced through the streets in several cities, including the capital Islamabad. "We have got our Naya Pakistan," Shahid Ali, one of the supporters, said as he danced euphorically near the busy Faizabad interchange, which links Islamabad with the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
The wild celebrations led to traffic jams at many places.

Delay Due to Results Transmission System Being Implemented for the 1st Time, the Dawn Reports | The CEC stressed the delay was on account of a new system - Results Transmission System - introduced by it. "We were implementing it for the first time. Therefore, there was some delay," Dawn online quoted him as saying. Asked about the doubts and the allegations, he said: "We will prove ourselves that we did our job right." The early-morning press conference came hours after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore outrightly rejected the results, alleging "blatant" rigging of the election, even though the vote count was under way. Sharif warned his party would launch protests against the alleged 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 powerful military. "Some five other parties including 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 the press conference in Lahore. "We will fight this injustice and use all options," he said, adding that there has been a "blatant violation" of the mandate.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan leads in NA-35 (Bannu) with 44,878 votes. MMA's Akram Khan Durrani lags behind with 32,467 votes, according to unofficial figures. 

Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Raza Khan: I regret the delay in relaying of elections results. I assure the people of Pakistan that the delay in election results is purely technical.

Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Raza Khan addresses press : I thank the people of Pakistan for voting in huge numbers and all those polling officers who ensured that the polling went in a smooth way. I also want to thank Pakistan’s Army for helping bring peace during the electoral process.

An official announcement from the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan is expected soon, Geo TV reports. The results have been delayed due to a glitch in the Result Transmission Service. Presiding officers have been asked to meet their returning officers, along with army officers assigned to their voting booths, with the results, ECP secretary Babar Yaqoob said. 

Already the old myth that India is not a factor in Pakistani elections has been busted. Imran Khan in particular has used India to paint Nawaz Sharif in lurid colors.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who contested from NA-58 (Shujabad-V) constituency in Multan district is staring at defeat and is currently trailing behind both PML-N candidate Syed Javed Ali Shah and PTI candidate Ibrahim Khan.

Geo TV has projected that Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is winning 114 seats while the PML-N is ahead in 57 seats. Bilawal Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party, which was seen as the kingmaker before the election, is third with 36 seats. These are unofficial figures. The official figures are still awaited.

Election Commission of Pakistan spokesperson Nadeem Qasim told Express Tribune no official results have been announced and reason for delay in transmission of results cannot be ascertained till presiding officers receive the poll results. Dawn News is reporting that the delay has been caused due to the breaking down of the Results Transmission System (RTS). The system has been overwhelmed due to a large number of polling officers using it at the same time.

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has also improved its showing in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly as compared to 2013. So far with 65 seats, PTI is in a comfortable position to form the government in the province.

PTI's Farooq Amanullah wins PP-295 (Rajanpur III), PML-N's Pir Kashif Ali wins PP-195 (Pakpattan V) and PTI's Tariq Dreshak wins PP-296 (Rajanpur IV) .

PTI’s Malik Amir Dogar wins from NA-155 (Multan II) with 88,567 votes. PML-N's Ijaz Ahmed wins PP-283 (Layyah IV). PTI's Sardar Nasrullah Dreshak wins from NA-194 (Rajanpur III) with 73,806 votes.

PTI is in the lead on 109 National Assembly seats after results were received from 26 per cent of polling stations from across the country. PML-N is behind the PTI with a lead on 67 seats while the PPP is in the third place, ahead of others on 38 seats. The fewest votes from polling stations have so far arrived from Sindh Assembly seats, at only 12 per cent. Results from 23 per cent polling stations of Punjab Assembly seats, 19 per cent stations of KP Assembly seats and 14 per cent stations of Balochistan Assembly seats have arrived so far. 

Benazir Bhutto’s daughter Aseefa has also slammed the Election Commission of Pakistan, saying that the poll body is nothing more than a pawn in the hands of the country’s powerful military.

The ECP has abdicated all responsibility in this election and have been nothing more than pawns. From throwing out polling agents to withholding results, the facade has been stripped away. This is blatant rigging !

— Aseefa B Zardari (@AseefaBZ) July 25, 2018

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman has decided to summon an All Parties Conference soon over allegedly rigged results in General Election 2018. In a statement, the MMA chief said that ‘the rigged results are unacceptable’ to the alliance. Fazl's comments followed similar allegations by major political parties in the country.

All major political parties have now rejected the election results as ANP general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain also joined the chorus to say that the PTI's emergence as the single largest party has only been possible due to large-scale meddling and rigging. The PPP and the PML-N have already contested the results. Here's the seat tally as it stands at this moment: 

The manipulation is seen as seeking to prevent the Pakistan Muslim League from returning to power, while giving a shot at running the country to Imran Khan and his PTI.

After Shehbaz Sharif, PPP's Bilawal Bhutto is also contesting the results. He says that he still hasn’t received official results from any constituency from where he contested.

It’s now past midnight & I haven’t received official results from any constituency I am contesting my myself. My candidates complaining polling agents have been thrown out of polling stations across the country. Inexcusable & outrageous.

— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) July 25, 2018

Even as the PML-N and the PPP contest the Pakistan election results, supporters of Imran Khan's party have already started celebrations on the streets. The cricket star-turned-politician is also expected to give a statement soon.  

PML-N calls this the “dirtiest election in the history of Pakistan". A party spokesperson says that this was a selection and not an election. Five different political parties have the same complaint. The caretaker government and election commission have both failed, he says.

Shehbaz Sharif: We will build consensus of all political parties that have the same complaint. We cannot leave this matter like this. We are winning in the Punjab Provincial Assembly. But it's not about winning losing. It is about the future of Pakistan. 

Sharif alleges that the party's polling agents were thrown out. "This is blatant rigging that is taking place. This is taking Pakistan back 30 years," he says. The Election Commission of Pakistan has rejected charges and even warned political leaders from making such serious allegations without evidence.