Fudging fears in Pak but Imran's rebels defy odds

Pakistan's general elections produced a fractured mandate on Friday, with independent candidates backed by incarcerated former premier Imran Khan's party pulling off stunning wins to inch ahead of Nawaz Sharif's PML-N party and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

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While the vote on Thursday was seen as largely free and fair, the results were unusually delayed, leading to allegations of fudging and tampering of ballots. Results continued to trickle in on Friday evening, more than 24 hours after the close of balloting.

A tally of results declared by the Election Commission of Pakistan at 11pm showed that of the 136 seats counted from the 265 contested, independent candidates backed by Khan had won 49, the PML-N 42 and the PPP 34. However, a tally by Geo News, a leading TV channel, logged 237 seats as counted as at 11pm and showed independent candidates leading in 95 seats, followed by 67 for PML-N and 52 for PPP.

Khan, who was recently given prison terms in three separate cases of treason, graft and having an un-Islamic marriage, was barred from contesting the election and the PTI was the focus of a sweeping crackdown, with candidates prevented from holding rallies by election officials and police and the party denied its election symbol, a cricket bat. This forced PTI candidates to contest as independents.

While the overall turnout for Thursday's election was about 50%, it became apparent that the PTI had done a better job in mobilising voters through its extensive grassroots network.