Live: Elections 2024

A Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court has extended former premier Imran Khan’s bail in four cases pertaining to May 9 violence until February 19.

The development comes days after incarcerated Imran and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi were granted bail in at least a dozen cases related to the May 9 incidents by a Rawalpindi court.

ATC judge Arshad Javed presided over the hearing today.

During the hearing, an assistant lawyer informed the court that Imran’s counsel was occupied with the Al Qadir Trust case and sought more time to present his arguments.

Subsequently, the ATC accepted the request and ordered that arrangements be made to ensure Imran’s attendance via video link from Adiala jail during the next hearing.

PTI leader Taimur Khan Jhagra has said that party workers are “trying to make sure [that] protests in Peshawar do not block roads from today”, as the party voices its concerns about the elections.

“Citizens should not be inconvenienced by the wrongdoing of a few officers,” Jhagra said in a post on X.

Addressing the chief secretary and the local administration, he said it was their “responsibility to hold to account those responsible for potential criminal action or inaction, or to fix the mathematical errors on nine Peshawar seats”.

Re-polling is under way in several polling stations of NA-88 (Khushab II), PS-18 (Ghotki I) and PK-90 (Kohat I).

District Returning Officer Agha Sher Zaman confirmed that repolling had begun at “two polling stations of Ghotki’s PS-18”.

PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh has said his party has created a “digital footprint” of the Form-45s for the elections to “further safeguard the people’s mandate”.

In a post on X, Sheikh said that ex-premier Imran Khan had “made ‘Form-45’ a household term” and that the public could no longer be fooled.

He demanded that the winner from his constituency NA-238, Muttahida Qaumi Movement—Pakistan’s Sadiq Iftikhar, “come out and admit he cheated”.

After the nomination of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif for the post of prime minister to lead a multi-party alliance in the Centre, resentment has been brewing in the former ruling party, which also spilled over onto social media.

Now that Nawaz is “sidelined”, the rank and file in the party is finding it difficult to swallow the pill. On Wednesday, there were more than 91,000 tweets seemingly by PML-N supporters under the hashtag ‘Pakistan Ko Nawaz Dou’.

What happened to the election slogan ‘Pakistan Ko Nawaz Dou’ and is Nawaz’s political career over, were the questions frequently being asked by social media users in several tweets.

A source close to the Sharif family told Dawn that Nawaz Sharif decided to withdraw from the race for his daughter Maryam Nawaz, who will lead Punjab as the first woman chief minister of the largest province by population.

Read more here.

During a vote recount, two people were killed and 13 others injured in an armed clash between the supporters of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and PPP candidates outside the office of the returning officer in the industrial town of Hub on Wednesday.

Officials said BAP’s Balochistan chapter president Sardar Mohammad Saleh Bhootani claimed victory on the Hub seat (PB-21) by obtaining 30,­910 votes according to unofficial results against PPP’s Ali Hassan Zehri, who challenged the result and sought a recount of votes.

However, on the PPP candidate’s complaint, the election commission held the result of PB-21 and ordered a recount of votes.

Meanwhile, officials said, supporters of both sides attempted to enter the Civic Centre and clashed with each other. During the clash that continued for two hours, the officials added, gunshots were fired, leaving several people wounded.

Read more here.

As the protests against alleged rigging in the election intensified in several parts of the country, PPP leaders and the candidates who won the national and provincial assembly seats from Balochistan at a joint presser announced that the party would form a coalition government, led by a jiyala chief minister.

It was unfortunate that defeated candidates and their parties had started criticising institutions, officers and candidates in strong words, the MNAs-elect and MPAs-elect regretted while addressing the press conference here on Wednesday.

They said the PPP emerged as the single majority party in the province by clinching 11 seats, as all other parties could not win on as many seats. Having the majority seats, their party had the right to form a government in Balochistan, they said, adding that other parties were being approached for the formation of a coalition government.

The MNAs-elect who spoke at the presser include former chief minister of Balochistan Nawabzada Jamal Khan Raisani and Malik Shah, while Haji Ali Madad Jattak, Obaidullah, Abdul Samad, Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi and Mir Asghar Rind were among the speakers who have been declared successful on the provincial assembly seats.

Read more here.

Re-polling is to be held today in several polling stations of NA-88 (Khushab II), PS-18 (Ghotki I) and PK-90 (Kohat I), according to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

In an earlier statement, the ECP had said that elections would be re-conducted in 26 polling stations of NA-88 as the polling material had been burned by a crowd.

It further said that polls would be held again in two stations of PS-18 as “unknown men had snatched polling material” there.

The reason for re-election in more than a dozen polling stations of PK-90 was the “polling material there being damaged by terrorists”, the ECP had said.

MQM-P convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has said that if the PPP is ready to become a part of the government then his party would be fully ready to cooperate with it.

“This is not our matter but of Pakistan’s. We don’t have an enmity with the PPP. We want genuine democracy.”

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has said that negotiations regarding government formation have still not kicked off.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, he said the party was clear that it would take all decisions of an immediate nature that were needed.

MQM-P delegation visited the Awami National Party’s (ANP) office in Karachi to discuss the post-election scenario and ways to work together.

Holding a joint media talk after the meeting, MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the country now needed a “real democracy” that could serve its citizen.

ANP leader Shahi Syed said injustices done to the province of Sindh should be rectified. “We will focus on resolving core issues faced together and work together,” he added.

A PTI-backed independent candidate, Ejaz Swati, who won the PS-88 Malir seat from Karachi, has joined the PPP.

In a statement released by the PPP, Swati expressed his commitment to the prosperity and development of his constituency through his affiliation with the party.

“I believe that the PPP will actively work for the betterment of the constituency,” he stated, emphasising his unconditional decision to become part of the PPP.

PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan has hinted at coming to terms with the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite an earlier “misunderstanding”.

Speaking on a Geo News programme today, he said: “Maybe we decide something with them in KP. There might have been a misunderstanding with them earlier.”

The PTI-backed independent candidate who won his National Assembly seat from Swat in the 2024 general elections expressed that he appreciated JI’s role in the past.

He also commended JI leader Hafiz Naeem for setting an example by forgoing his seat on accounts of rigging.

“I respect them with all my heart. After PTI I respect them the most because they have internal democracy within their party,” Khan added.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has complained about restrictions imposed due to threat alerts from security agencies about possible attacks on the party.

In an interview with Hum News, he said: “The establishment’s [dealing] with us, we used to get threat letters daily which they portray with good wishes and we say you were stopping us. And if we don’t stop then you attack us and open the door for it and eliminate our security.”

PML-N leader Khawaja Asif has made it clear that party supremo Nawaz Sharif will remain the decision-maker even without the premiership.

Speaking on a Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, the former defence minister said Nawaz would have a “factual role” in the formation of the government and afterwards.

“Obviously, Shehbaz has the support of Nawaz,” he said. “Nawaz is the Quaid. Even if he doesn’t become PM, every last decision will be his.”

Asif maintained that apart from some, most of the general elections in the country have been controversial.

“Despite this, things did move forward. I feel the system should not be disrupted,” he said. “Even we have reservations in these elections. You cannot say fair and free polls were held.”

In response to a question, Asif said there would always be a risk of PPP “pulling the rug”, adding that PML-N has initiated talks with PPP leaders over this. “Once the way to get the economy on track is achieved, a way for political stability will also be found,” he added.

Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi has said that legal forums are available for the redressal of complaints regarding elections, Radio Pakistan reports.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, he said any candidate can approach the legal forums if they have any complaints.

Regarding the summoning of the National Assembly session, Solangi said the summary to convene the sitting of the House would be issued with his signature. He added that the session would be summoned at an appropriate time.

The minister highlighted that the Election Commission of Pakistan has to notify poll results within 14 days after the elections. He noted that these 21 days will be completed on the 29th of this month, hence, a session of the National Assembly can be summoned at any time until that date.

The coordination and liaison committees of the PPP and PML-N met for a consultative meeting in Islamabad today.

According to a statement released by the PPP, proposals to counter inflation, unemployment and poverty were discussed in the meeting.

Both sides also agreed on the need for a stable democratic government in Pakistan to deal with economic, political, legal and security challenges.

The statement added that another meeting will be held tomorrow in which the PML-N representatives in other provinces will participate.

The PML-N has said that six more newly elected Punjab Assembly members have joined the party.

In a post on X, it said the freshly inducted members included Sultan Bajwa from Nankana Sahib’s PP-132, Shazia Tareen from Lodhran, Mehmood Qadir Laghari and Hanif Patafi from Dera Ghazi Khan, Taimur Lali from Chiniot and Ali Asgar from Leh.

PTI leader Taimur Khan Jhagra has claimed that “unprecedented rigging” took place in the Feb 8 polls.

“Specifically in Peshawar, I keep on saying that that the blatant falsification of results on 8 seats has been done in a way that cannot be hidden,” he wrote in a post on X.

Jhagra also expressed surprise that JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman and ANP’s Aimal Wali would “vouch for the rigging done on my seat”.

The Awami National Party has said its protests against “rigged elections” would commence from Swabi on February 20, followed by Charsadda.

The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has said that the highest voter turnout in Pakistan’s 12th general election was from Tharparkar in Sindh while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan saw the lowest number of voters.

According to a report, 60.6 million voters exercised their right to vote on February 8. “Nearly 5.8 million more people voted in GE-2024 as compared to 2018 when 54.8 million had cast their votes,” Fafen said.

The report added that despite an increase in voters, the turnout dipped from 52.1 per cent in 2018 to 47.6pc in 2024, primarily due to an increase in the number of registered voters from 106 million in 2018 to 128.6 million in 2024.

“In addition, harsh winter in parts of the country, fears of violence and terrorism in KP and Balochistan as well as uncertainty about the conduct of elections may have also adversely affected the turnout,” it added.

The Fafen report is based on the analysis of Form 47 of the 264 National Assembly constituencies published on the Election Commission of Pakistan’s website.

PTI leader Hammad Azhar has said that “robbing” the PTI of its public mandate through “horse trading” would increase anger on the streets and lead to instability.

“Pakistani voters have given a clear mandate to PTI. They bestowed it with a 2/3 majority in the National Assembly & 2 provincial assemblies. The voters did not vote for a hung parliament, they completely rejected PMLN & they opted for a strong majority led by PTI,” he said in a post on X.

JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said the Parliament belonged to everyone.

In response to a question regarding a coalition with the PTI, he said: “Our conflict is with their minds, not their bodies. We hope this issue will be resolved.”

To another query, Fazl stated that the JUI-F was not subservient to both the PPP and the PML-N. “We are not the government’s coalition partners,” he added.

JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said the Election Commission of Pakistan’s role “from day one has been dubious”.

At a press conference in Islamabad, he claimed that the electoral watchdog rejected petitions filed by the JUI-F’s candidates.

“On Feb 22, we will hold a meeting with the JUI-F’s local general council, on Feb 25 we will hold a meeting in Balochistan, we will hold a meeting in KP on Feb 27 and meetings will be held in Karachi and Lahore on March 3 and March 5,” he added.

JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman has invited PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif to sit in the opposition benches with the former.

At a news conference, he claimed that the election results clearly showed that bribes were taken from successful and unsuccessful candidates. “Some were even given entire assemblies in return for money.”

“I therefore invite the PML-N and Nawaz to come with us and sit in the opposition,” he added.

JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman has said his party would play its parliamentary role but would become a part of the assemblies with reservations.

At a press conference, he said the JUI-F wanted a National Assembly that was truly represented by the people “without the intervention from the establishment”.

“Defeating the JUI-F through poll rigging was a conspiracy of anti-Islamic elements. Our fault is that we played our role in mending the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which is not acceptable to the US.

“Our fault is that we spoke up against Israeli actions in Gaza and supported Hamas,” Fazl stated.

He added that the JUI-F was an ideological force and would not compromise on any of its stances. “Our workers are determined to start a movement based on our history and sacrifices.

“If the establishment believes that elections were free and fair, then that means the army’s May 9 narrative has been buried,” Fazl alleged.

JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman says his party has rejected the results of the February 8 elections, alleging that the rigging witnessed during these polls was unmatched.

He rejected the Election Commission of Pakistan’s statement in which it declared the polls free and fair.

“In the eyes of JUI-F, the Parliament has lost its important and democracy is losing its case. It seems as if decisions will now be taken in the ground and not Parliament,” he said.

On February 11, 2024, a video message of politician Javed Akhtar circulated on social media platform X with the claim that he was forcibly made to win the general elections and refused to accept this.

The caption quoted him as saying: “I have been forced to win. my opponent Sardar Farhat (PTI) had won. Defeating the winner is an insult to the people’s mandate.”

“Independent candidate Javed Lund refuses to take fake mandate. Condemns rigging, congratulates PTI candidate,” the caption further said but did not mention which constituency Akhtar has supposedly won from.

However, Javed did not say this nor did he win in the constituencies he was contesting.

Read full story here.

PPP Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi has rejected PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat’s claims that Asif Ali Zardari was making attempts to reach out to the PTI.

Earlier today, Marwat said Zardari was trying to contact the PTI through “middlemen”.

However, in an interview with Geo News, Kundi rubbished these claims and said: “If this is the PTI’s official stance then a serious person should come forward and talk about it.”

The PPP leader stated that now that the PTI was “making up things” after realising that there was no way for it to form a government in the Centre. “If we had reached out to the PTI, we would have done it through a proper forum,” he added.

Sher Afzal Marwat has claimed that PPP Chairman Asif Ali Zardari was making attempts to reach out to the PTI through “middlemen”.

“The party’s leadership held a discussion over it last night,” the PTI leader said in a media talk. “The PPP has hinted that the PTI can get its seats back under the due process of law.

“But the PPP clearly stated that its choice was PTI instead of PML-N,” Marwat claimed.

The PTI leader said he would discuss this development in a meeting with Imran Khan at Adiala Jail tomorrow.