Islamabad: The election commission of Pakistan officially disclosed the final outcome of Thursday’s general elections, wherein independent candidates supported by the incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan’s party secured the largest share with 101 seats.
The prolonged delay in result announcements created tension, leading to accusations of foul play from various parties and sparking protests. Out of the 265 contested seats, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) released results for 264, withholding the outcome of NA 88 in Khushab, Punjab, due to fraud complaints. This seat’s results will be declared after addressing the grievances. Another seat’s election was postponed following the death of a candidate.
Independent candidates, predominantly endorsed by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), clinched 101 seats in the National Assembly. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, secured 75 seats, making it the technically largest party in Parliament.
Bilawal Zardari Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party attained 54 seats, while the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) from Karachi, representing Urdu-speaking migrants from India, secured 17 seats. The remaining 12 seats were won by smaller parties.
To form a government, a party needs to win 133 seats out of the 265 contested in the National Assembly. A total of 169 seats are required for a simple majority out of 336, including reserved slots for women and minorities, which will be decided later.
While complete results for the provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have been announced, the outcomes for the three constituencies of the Balochistan assembly are pending.
In Punjab’s 296 contested seats, independents claimed 138, closely followed by PML-N with 137, and other parties secured 21 seats. In Sindh, out of the 130 contested seats, results for 129 were declared, with a re-poll ordered in one constituency due to corruption. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where 113 seats were up for grabs, results for 112 were announced, and one seat’s outcome was withheld.
Earlier, elections on two seats were postponed due to the candidates’ deaths before the election day.