Pakistan Elections Results 2018 Live: Voters Reject Hafiz Saeed

Guwahati: Chief Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind behind the Mumbai attack and Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD), have been rejected by the Pakistani voters as none of the candidates associated with him in the past have leads. Hafiz Talha Saeed (son), contesting from the NA-91 seat from Sargodha, is also lagging behind.

Anti-corruption crusader, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, is closer to victory. His party is leading with 114 seats and Khan bagging the Islambad-II seat. The PTI chief has won 92,891 votes, followed by former Pakistan PM, Shahid Khagan Abbasi.

Chief Election Commissioner, Muhammad Raza Khan, said the delay in the announcement of the election results has caused some annoyance. The delay was on account of a new system “Results Transmission System” introduced by the CEC.

PML-N president, Shahbaz Sharif has rejected the election results. He hinted that his party would launch protests against the alleged mishandling of polls. He said that some 5 other parties, including PPP, have raised issues on the alleged rigging in polls. He also said that he will announce the future course of action after consulting with the other parties.

"We will fight this injustice and use all options." Sharif termed it the dirtiest election in Pakistan's history. "This is a horrible situation, which I have never seen in my 30-year political career. These were the dirtiest polls in Pakistan's history," he said.

On Wednesday, voting was marred by a suicide bombing. The bombing killed thirty-one people in the capital of the southwestern province of Baluchistan, near a polling station in Quetta. Anti-corruption crusader, Khan, cast his campaign to topple a predatory political elite delaying development in the impoverished Muslim nation, where the literacy rate hovers above 40 percent. However, the country’s new government will face huge complications from brewing economic crisis, worsening relations with the United States and deepening cross-country water shortages. Many analysts predicted that Pakistan may need Bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

With an estimated population of 200 million and a nuclear-armed rival to India, the country has been ruled by the military during its 71-year history. The election is important as it is considered to be the country’s second consecutive democratic transition.