Pakistan votes today

Voting began in Pakistan today to elect a new prime minister, a National Assembly and provincial assemblies in the country.

Over 105.95 million voters are expected to cast votes with more than 3,000 candidates contesting 272 general seats of the National Assembly and 8,000 candidates fighting for 577 general seats of four provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

In the previous election, the PML-N, led by former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, got 166 out of 342 seats in the National Assembly. While the seats were short of majority, he formed the government with the help of independents who joined his party. But Sharif was subsequently disqualified as the PM in July 2017 after the Panama Papers case decision. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was elected Prime Minister by the National Assembly in August last year.

Sharif and his daughter Naryam are currently lodged in a Rawalpindi jail. As the country geared up for the election, there has been a crackdown on the media along with allegations that the military has secretly backed the campaign of former cricketer Imran Khan.

The period leading up to the election has also seen a series of violent incidents – of attacks tagetting campaign rallies and candidates – including an incident of violent attack which left 151 persons dead in the Balochistan province.

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