 "Pakistan Election 2024 Results")
The tight race and political uncertainty in Pakistan have led to a sell-off in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE). On Friday, its benchmark KSE-100 index fell 1,700 points in early morning trade. It recovered slightly as the results started coming in. As of 12:30 pm (IST), it was still over 1,100 points (1.77 per cent) in the red, according to Bloomberg.
Amid delays and reports of clashes, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is releasing the results of the 2024 general elections. The numbers show a tight race in the results. However, as of 12:30 pm (IST), Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is leading the tally.
According to Dawn, PML-N has won 12 seats so far. It is followed by nine seats each by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and affiliate candidates of Imran Khan's now-banned Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). Others are leading on two seats. To achieve a majority, a party or coalition would need to win at least 134 seats.
READ: Pakistan Elections: Shehbaz Sharif wins with 63,953 votes from Lahore
Pakistan Election Results: Unusual delay and 'lack of communication'
The Pakistan Election 2023 results started coming in over 10 hours late on Friday morning. According to Pakistan's interior ministry, this was due to preventive measures taken to ensure foolproof security.
In a post on social media platform X, the ministry said that the delay in election results is due to a "lack of communication, which was a result of preventive measures taken to ensure foolproof security."
The ministry added that the media and the public's concerns about the late processing of the results have been reviewed. It added that the delay was assessed, and the situation is now satisfactory.
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While the results were being delayed, PTI alleged that the mandate of the people of Pakistan was being stolen.
In a statement released on X, PTI stated, "Let the world know that the clear and overwhelming mandate of the people of Pakistan is being stolen. Despite unprecedented pre-poll rigging & oppression, there was a record, massive turnout on polling day. Every independent result showed PTI winning by a landslide. 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 the Form 45. Copies of these forms have been collected by PTI candidates' polling agents, which show them winning by a large majority. However, Returning Officers are now manipulating the results using Form 47, which is a summary of all the Forms 45 from each polling station," it added.
