Voting for #PakistanElections2018 begins; over 12,570 candidates for 849 seats of Parliament, four provincial assemblies in fray

NewsBharati    25-Jul-2018
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New Delhi, July 25: Today, lakhs of people are reaching to the polling stations to cast their votes in Pakistan’s 11th general election. The polls in Pakistan started at 8 AM and will continue till 6 in the evening. The counting will be taken up immediately after the polls and the results will be announced within 24 hours.

 

Notably, the battle to regain power in Pakistan is set between three parties i.e Shahbaz Sharif-led PML-N, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan People's Party of Bilawal Bhutto. Over 12,570 candidates, including a number of hard-line clerics and terrorists are contesting the elections to 849 seats of Parliament and four provincial assemblies.

Over 3.5 lakh security troopers have been deployed at polling stations in Pakistan to ensure law and order and take action against harassment. Over 70 years of Pakistan's history, the civilian transfer of power is taking place only for the second time.

The run-up to the polls has seen a massive crackdown on the media and allegations that the military and ISI has secretly backed the campaign of Imran Khan while targeting his political opponents. Controversy has also arisen over allowing terrorist groups to participate in the poll. The leading among them are Mumbai-terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led banned Jamat-ud Dawah's candidate. His son and son-in-law are also contesting the elections.

On Tuesday, a day before the elections, Naela Quadri Baloch who is a known Baloch activist and President of World Baloch Women’s Forum urged the people in Balochistan to boycott Pakistan General Elections to be accusing Pakistani Army and ISI of manipulations.

The military has ruled Pakistan through various coups for nearly half of the country's history since its creation in 1947.