Live: Elections 2024

Pildat president Ahmed Bilal Mehboob has said that the PML-N, the PPP and the PTI have not only retained their vote bank from the 2018 elections but also achieved a gain in it.

Speaking to Geo News, he said that countrywide, the vote was split between the three major political parties, referring to the PML-N, the PPP, and the independent candidates fielded by the PTI.

Mehboob further highlighted that the Jamiat Ulema-I-Islam—Fazl was another major party to receive votes while in Karachi, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan had emerged as a key player.

Caretaker IT minister Dr Umar Saif has said that a “roadmap” has been made for the promotion of the digital economy for the next government, Radio Pakistan reports.

Addressing a meeting in Karachi, he said that the country can generate billions of dollars in revenue if the next government continues the initiatives taken by the caretaker government in the IT sector.

He said the Special Investment Facilitation Council has “proven to be a great support for the upcoming elected government in the process of developing the country”, the report added.

Former human rights minister Shireen Mazari has said that the Supreme Court’s verdict upholding the ECP’s decision to revoke the PTI’s electoral symbol was “never just about only denying a party symbol but it also meant denial of reserved women and minority seats”.

“Over the years we have added to the English language by redefining so many concepts, including [the] concept of ‘fair & free’ & ‘level playing field’!” she remarked in a post on X.

Even as the party’s top-tier leadership continues hectic efforts to form a government in the Centre, Punjab and Balochistan, there is a sense of shock among PML-N ranks over losses in Punjab — especially areas the party considered its strongholds.

Defeats for key leaders such as Rana Sanaullah in Faisalabad, Khwaja Saad Rafique in Lahore and Mian Javed Latif in Sheikhupura, among others, have prompted calls for introspection before moving forward, both from the defeated candidates and others within party echelons who have woken up to the reality that their popularity has taken a hit.

“The Sharifs and the other senior leaders were shaken by the results in Punjab, but they are trying to put on a brave face as they focus on forming a coalition in Islamabad,” one party leader told Dawn on Sunday.

In conversations with Dawn, a couple of PML-N leaders said on Sunday that it was the leadership’s “miscalculation”, i.e. their failure to properly assess public sentiment, especially that of the youth, which cost the party dearly.

Another aspect of the party’s politics that apparently did not sit well with voters was the appearance of being pro-establishment.

Read more here.

As the PML-N and PPP have formally started consultations to form a government in the Centre with the help of their allies, the PPP is to convene a meeting of its central executive committee today in Islamabad to deliberate on the former’s proposals.

Insiders had told Dawn that the PML-N wanted to keep the slot of the prime minister, just like the PDM coalition government, and in return, it offered to the PPP the coveted slots of the president, National Assembly speaker, and the Senate chairman.

Separately, a meeting between Nawaz Sharif and PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujat was due in Lahore on Sunday evening. However, it was postponed for Monday (today) in Islamabad.

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PTI leader Taimur Jhagra has demanded that the tallying of Form 45 “must be done in line with the Election Act” for his PK-79 constituency.

In a post on X, he said it was being suggested to him to cite his political rival Jalal Khan’s “alleged Afghan nationality” as an issue but asserted that it was “not the basis of my grievance”.

“It is very simple for me. I have obtained 25102 votes. He obtained 1619 votes. The second highest vote-getter JUI-F obtained 5188 votes,” he added.

PTI-backed candidate for PK-17 (Lower Dir) Ubaidur Rehman has been declared successful after a recount of votes by the returning officer of the constituency, the assistant commissioner of Samarbagh, Numan Pervez.

The RO in this regard issued fresh results, declaring Ubaidur Rehman of PTI as winner with 23,229 votes as compared to Jamaat-i-Islami candidate Izazul Mulk’s 19,990 votes. Earlier, the RO, according to his Form-47, had declared Izazul Mulk as the winner in PK-17 constituency with a total of 25,124 votes against 22,981 votes of Ubaidur Rehman.

Ubaidur Rehman had challenged the results and sought a probe into Form-45 and a recount of votes at 10 polling stations. The RO issued another notification in the shape of Form-49, showing Ubaidur Rehman as the winner and Izazul Mulk as the runner-up.

Jamaat-i-Islami, meanwhile, announced to end its protest sit-in outside Timergara rest house wherein the recounting was carried out.

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PTI leader Shafqat Mahmood has said that another coalition government similar to the previous PML-N-led one is “in the scoffing led by Shehbaz Sharif”.

“N league is the Q party of current times. Kings’ choice but no public support,” he said in a post on X.

President Arif Alvi is duty-bound under the Constitution to summon a fresh session of the new National Assembly by Feb 29, as the National Assembly Secretariat (NAS) has made all arrangements to welcome the newly elected members.

According to Section 91(2) of the Constitution, the president must convene the National Assembly’s session after the official announcement of election results or issuance of its notification within 21 days.

“The National Assembly shall meet on the twenty-first day following the day on which a general election to the assembly is held, unless sooner summoned by the president,” the section says.

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The concerns over PTI’s success in keeping intact its candidates who won as independents have materialised as one of the winners joined PML-N.

The wheeling and dealing has intensified as PML-N, and PPP, are making hectic efforts to woo independent members-elect to improve their tally of total National and provincial assembly seats.

So far, six independent MNAs-elect, including PTI-backed Waseem Qadir from NA-121 (Lahore-V), have joined PML-N.

“I have returned to my home,” Qadir was quoted as saying.

Likewise, Raja Khurram Nawaz from NA-48, Barrister Aqeel from NA-54, Pir Zahoor Hussain Qureshi from NA-146, Sardar Shamsher Mazari from NA-189, and Barrister Mian Khan Bugti from NA-253 have also joined PML-N.

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In at least 24 National Assembly constituencies, the number of rejected ballots was found to be greater than the margin of victory, an analysis of provisional results reveals.

Twenty-two of these constituencies fall in Punjab, with one each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.

PML-N won the electoral race in 13 of these constituencies, five were claimed by PPP, four by the PTI-backed independents and two by other independents.

Around two million ballot papers have been excluded from the count from the 265 National Assembly constituencies.

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PTI-backed independent candidate Naeem Haider Panjutha has said he has filed a petition in the Election Commission of Pakistan against alleged rigging in his constituency PP-71.

PTI leader Musarrat Cheema has said that she is a part of the PTI and will remain.

In a post on X, she said, “I am in the PTI and will remain, God-willing. But whoever caused damage to the party will be dealt with.”

After a poor showing in the Feb 8 polls, the PML-N, which has about 75 seats in the National Assembly, has pitched the idea of a “participatory coalition government”, saying not a single political party had secured the mandate to form a government in the Centre.

Former law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar termed this scenario ‘Hobson’s choice’ and said not a single political party had secured a majority in the National Assembly, insisting that elections were “fair”.

The PML-N leader was talking to the media after a meeting of the party’s top brass at Jati Umra in which consultations were held regarding the future course of action. The ex-minister said the PML-N had started consultations with its former allies to form a government in the Centre.

“There’s only the possibility of forming the [federal] government with the backing of the PML-N. It will be a participatory coalition government,” he said, adding that it was in “the largest interest of the country that all should join hands” to form the federal government.

Read more here.

PTI Senior Vice President Latif Khosa has claimed that 50 PTI-backed independent candidates are winning on Form 45s with a margin of thousands of votes.

Talking to ARY News, Khosa said: “We have clear official stamps, signatures of presiding and polling officers as well.”

He said the PTI would get back these 50 seats, saying that adding them up with the reserved seats for women and minorities would take the party’s number to around 170 seats.

“When we reach this count, we can form the government ourselves,” Khosa asserted. He said the party would happily sit in the opposition instead of forming a coalition government at the “behest of others”.

PTI Senior Vice President Latif Khosa has said that independent candidates elected on party founder Imran Khan’s vote are liable to abide by the PTI’s code of conduct.

Speaking to ARY News today, the former Punjab governor said: “They are not independents in the sense that they can do anything they want. They have taken Imran Khan’s vote.”

He made it clear that PTI as a party has not been banned and it exists according to the law and Constitution. Khosa said only the party’s symbol was taken away.

“Let things move forward and we will raise concerns over it,” he added. “They will face party backlash and you can’t even understand the public backlash they will receive.”

PTI leader Hammad Azhar has called on the party’s supporters to remain peaceful.

“Everyone listen to this carefully. Do not get angry in any scenario. Have to remain peaceful. Do not fall into the trap of an anarchist,” he said.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced a recount in 39 polling stations of Hub’s PB-21 constituency in Balochistan.

In an order available with Dawn.com, the electoral watchdog said recounting of votes will take place in No. 1-25 polling stations in Tehsil Doraji and No. 48, 49, 50, 51, 57, 58, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 81 and 82 of Tehsil Hub.

The statement added that Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja had received an application from contesting candidate Ali Hassan Zehri in this regard which was later accepted.

“The Returning Officer is directed to issue notices to the contesting candidates of the time, date, and venue of the recounting,” the ECP order said.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has suspended the consolidation of the results for Mansehra’s NA-15 constituency following a petition by PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif against the returning officer (RO).

An order issued by the ECP said that Nawaz’s counsel had argued that the Form 47 for the seat was prepared without the Form 45 of “approximately more than 125 polling stations”. The counsel had argued that the Form 45s were not provided to Nawaz as well.

The ECP order directed that a notice be issued to the RO to submit a comprehensive report on the matter within three day. It added that a notice also be issued to the PTI-backed winning candidate Shehzad Muhammad Gushtasib and the result consolidation be suspended till the case’s final outcome.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has suspended the consolidation of the result for Islamabad’s NA-48 constituency. The electoral watchdog has directed the returning officer to submit a comprehensive report on a petition filed by PTI-backed candidate Syed Muhammad Ali Bokhari.

In his petition to the ECP, Bokhari said he obtained 59,851 votes while his opponent, Raja Khurram Shehzad Nawaz, garnered 69,699 votes.

However, Bokhari said that the Form 45 issued by presiding officers, he secured 74,425 votes from 257 polling stations while Nawaz obtained 30,345 votes. He urged the ECP to order a recount in the constituency.

“The process of consolidation shall remain suspended till the outcome of the case, if not already concluded,” the ECP said in its order.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has suspended the consolidation of the results for Islamabad’s NA-47 constituency following a petition by PTI-backed independent candidate Shoaib Shaheen against the returning officer (RO) and the district RO.

An order issued by the ECP said that Shaheen had argued that the Form 47 for the seat was not in accordance with the Form 45, since the former showed PML-N’s Tariq Fazal in the lead while the latter showed Shaheen in the lead.

The ECP issued a notice to the RO for a comprehensive report on the matter within three days. It also issued a notice to Fazal and suspended the consolidation of the result.

Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi has said the government has fulfilled its constitutional responsibility by holding free, fair and transparent elections in a peaceful manner, APP reports.

Speaking during a TV talk show on private media, the minister said the caretaker government had extended “all-out facilitation” to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in holding the polls.

The results of the elections were a testament to the transparency of the polls, he added.

MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar has said that Karachi has “woken up” after the party secured a significant number of seats from the provincial capital of Sindh in the Feb 8 general elections.

Addressing a public gathering in Karachi, Sattar commended party workers for persuading the public to vote for MQM-P.

He emphasised that the party’s primary challenge now is to serve the masses, which he said the MQM-P is “fully prepared to undertake”.

As per the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), MQM-P has currently won 17 seats in the National Assembly and 28 seats in the Sindh Assembly in the Feb 8 election results.

The PPP and PML-N have agreed “in principle to save the country from political instability”.

A press release from the PML-N on a meeting between senior leadership of the two in Lahore’s Bilawal House said they agreed in principle on political cooperation.

“In the meeting, the overall situation of the country and the political cooperation in the future were discussed in detail

“The leaders agreed to cooperate politically to bring the country to political stability,” the press release said.

The PPP and PML-N leadership have had their “first official contact” for the purposes of government formation at Lahore’s Bilawal House.

A press release from the PPP said PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif met PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to seek the latter’s help in forming the next government.

PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and other senior PML-N leaders were also part of the meeting.

The PPP leadership said it would discuss the PML-N’s proposal regarding cooperation in government formation in the former’s Central Executive Committee meeting on Monday.