Pakistan election 2024 updates: Voting ends in polls marred by violence
Pakistan’s general elections sees Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto and Imran Khan’s PTI competing to lead the crisis-ridden South Asian nation for the next five years. Follow our live updates.
This live page is now closed. Please head over to our Pakistan Elections 2024 results live page here.
This live page is now closed. Please head over to our Pakistan Elections 2024 results live page here.
- Voting ends in Pakistan general elections marred by suspension mobile services and violence. Polling extended in some constituencies by two hours.
- At least nine people, including two children and six security officials, killed in attacks by suspected armed groups across the country, reports say.
- Voters cast their ballots for two legislators to represent their constituency – one federally and the other provincially.
- A major crackdown on the biggest opposition party and its leader, former PM Imran Khan, fuelled concerns the polls were not free and fair.
It’s a wrap from us
We will be closing this live page now.
However, our coverage of Pakistan Elections 2024 continues on our new live page here.
We will bring you all the latest news, updates, reaction, comments and, of course, the results as they start to trickle in.
Thank you for joining us in the first half of this election journey.
Photos: Vote count under way
When will results be announced?
It’s almost 7pm (14:00 GMT) in Pakistan and the two-hour extension given to some constituencies is about to expire.
Vote count is under way with partial and unofficial results expected to trickle in later in the evening.
Haroon Shinwari, a senior official of the Election Commission of Pakistan, said that the complete results will start pouring in from urban areas after 10pm (17:00 GMT), but cautioned there might be delay in remote, rural areas.
How does Pakistan election work?
Here are some facts about how the electoral system works:
- Pakistan is a parliamentary democracy and voting took place for seats in the federal legislature, called the National Assembly, and four provincial, or state, assemblies.
- Almost 128 million Pakistanis out of a population of 241 million were eligible to vote – all those above 18. Polling ended at 5pm (12:00 GMT) but a two-hour extension was granted in some areas.
- There are 5,121 candidates contesting for the federal legislature and 12,695 for the provinces.
- The National Assembly consists of 336 seats – 266 are decided through direct voting on polling day, while 70 reserved seats – 60 for women and 10 for non-Muslims – are allotted according to the strength of each party in the house.
- Victorious candidates become members of the National Assembly. Independent candidates have the option to join any party after the elections.
- Once constituted, the National Assembly holds a parliamentary vote to select a leader of the house, who becomes the prime minister. A successful candidate must show a simple majority in the house – that is, the support of at least 169 members.
- Once a prime ministerial candidate wins the vote in the National Assembly, they are sworn in as prime minister. The new prime minister picks cabinet ministers, who form the federal government.
Breakdown of National Assembly seats
Voting time over as dozens wait outside polling stations
By Abdul Jabbar Nasir in Karachi
Voting time has come to an end at the Young Scholars High School in Karachi, where about 250 people were still waiting to cast their ballots.
The presiding officer was yet to decide with the polling agents on how to proceed.
The Election Commission for Pakistan (ECP) said 40 percent of the votes are in at this polling station.
Questions being asked of the election commission
The ECP had one job to hold free and fair polls .
It failed.
Today it could not prevent authorities from suspending phone services, making it difficult for voters to access polling stations details, candidates from communicating with polling agents and for media to their job.
— Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) February 8, 2024
WATCH: Long queues outside polling stations in Pakistan
What’s happened in Pakistan election?
It’s 6pm (13:00 GMT) in Pakistan and here are the highlights of voting day:
- Polling has closed across most of Pakistan except where voters are still in the queue or some polling centres where the election commission approved a two-hour extension.
- Mobile internet was shut down throughout Pakistan, a move that has been slammed by activists and political parties.
- At least nine people were killed in bomb and shooting attacks across the country.
- The vote count is under way with partial, unofficial results expected to trickle in later in the evening.
WATCH: Internet taken down on election day in Pakistan
Internet and mobile services was suspended in Pakistan as voters headed to the polls. Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig has been reporting on the problems it’s caused:
Amnesty says internet shutdown ‘reckless attack on people’s rights’
Following the internet blackout in Pakistan, Amnesty International’s interim deputy director for South Asia said the decision on election day was “a blunt attack on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”.
“It is reckless to impede access to information as people head out to polling stations on the heels of devastating bomb blasts and what has been an intense crackdown on the opposition in the lead-up to the elections in the country,” Livia Saccardi said.
“Blanket shutdowns impact people’s mobility, livelihood and ability to navigate through a difficult time further undermining their trust in authorities.
“Amnesty International calls on the authorities of Pakistan to adopt a rights-respecting approach and urgently lift all blanket restrictions on access to the internet to enable people’s access to timely information and report on any election-related matter throughout the polling process.”
Voters in Karachi complain of chaos, lack of directions
Voters at a school in Karachi say the process for casting their ballots was chaotic.
“They [officers at the polling station] were not guiding people as they should, it was very chaotic inside,” 27-year-old Wanya Shakeel said. “Everybody was in a queue while most of the rooms in the school were empty. There was confusion because two constituencies were voting in the same location.”
Nawab Masihuddin Ahmed, 56, said there was no arrangement for the elderly.
“It is very problematic and and there isn’t enough ECP [Electoral Commission of Pakistan] staff. The public is being misguided,” he said.
Long queues of voters still present
Long queues of voters are still present across many of the polling centres in Lahore and Karachi even after the scheduled close of polls.
Large crowds could still be seen outside a polling station in Pakistan’s largest city after the 5pm end of voting. Imran Khan's party demanded a deadline extension, but the election commission had earlier ruled that out. Read our live blog for the latest https://t.co/gWA1bghjMw pic.twitter.com/yOcEe7IT5f
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) February 8, 2024
Voting ends across most of Pakistan
Voting has ended across most of Pakistan’s polling centres.
However, voting will continue where people have joined the queue and at the few centres where the election commission approved a two-hour extension.
Last-ditch voting efforts
With less than 10 minutes left, female voters continued to flock to a polling station in Lahore.
PTI leader Imran Khan won here in 2018.
Voters here have accused the administration of deliberately slowing down the process. But ECP officials at the station say the activity went smoothly.
“We have over 50 percent turnout in the station, so how can anybody say it was slowed,” the official told Al Jazeera.
More polling delays
Our correspondent Alia Chughtai is reporting that at one polling centre in the southern city of Karachi, the presiding officer did not start polling until 11am (06:00 GMT), three hours after the scheduled start of voting.
Dozens of people were turned away.
This post on X shows further delays in Karachi:
NA 236. Askari 4 polling station. The voting hasn't even begun yet at 3 pm. Hundreds of people queued up — senior citizens, women, children. The presiding officer threatening to pack up, if people don't cooperate — which they have been since 8 am.
Mobile networks shut… pic.twitter.com/pZnfILOknh
— Ammar Khan (@rogueonomist) February 8, 2024
Five security officials killed
Five security personnel have been killed in an attack while patrolling on election day in northwestern Pakistan, a police official said.
“Four police officers and one Frontier Constabulary officer are reported dead and three police officers are injured” following the attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said Shahid Islam, a senior police official.
Polling time extended in some areas
Local media reported that the Election Commission of Pakistan has extended polling times in some centres across Pakistan.
As we reported earlier, voting is scheduled to close at 5pm (12:00 GMT), but anyone who joins the queue before that time would be allowed to vote in addition to the extension granted to some polling centres.
PTI urges supporters remove WiFi passwords
The PTI has called on people to remove passwords from their personal WiFi accounts amid the ongoing suspension of mobile networks.
“You are all requested to counter this cowardly act by removing passwords from your personal WiFi accounts, so anyone in the vicinity can have access to internet on this extremely important day,” the party said in a post on X.
Pakistanis, the illegitimate, fascist regime has blocked cell phone services across Pakistan on polling day.
You are all requested to counter this cowardly act by removing passwords from your personal WiFi accounts, so anyone in the vicinity can have access to internet on this… pic.twitter.com/b0OwDhwBaB
— PTI (@PTIofficial) February 8, 2024
Female participation remains low in Balochistan
By Saadullah Akhtar in Quetta
Female participation is low in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province due to strict tribal customs.
Muteeba Naz, 21, cast her first ballot today. While in Balochistan’s tribal society women are largely prevented from voting, she believes that women have equal power to bring about social change.
However, she said more should be done to guarantee the safety of voters.
“The new government’s priority should be inflation and terrorism because yesterday over two dozen people were killed in Balochistan,” she told Al Jazeera.
Into the final hour of voting
Polls are scheduled to close at 5pm local time (12:00 GMT) which is in around 40 minutes
However, people who join the queue before that time will be allowed to cast their votes. Moreover, polling may be extended in some areas as per the election commission’s rules.
Government structure in Pakistan
Voting delays being reported
Polling still hasn't started at Govt Boys Degree School, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi.
More than 5 hours have passed. Thousands of voters waiting 🚨pic.twitter.com/JFlZbHYIwn
— Justuju – جستجو (@justujuuu) February 8, 2024
How the voting works
Voting is under way in Pakistan to elect the country’s next government and the legislatures of the four provinces.
These are Pakistan’s 12th general elections — the country’s latest attempt to deepen democratic roots. The powerful military establishment has ruled directly for more than three decades of the country’s journey as an independent nation since 1947.
It has influenced and intervened in politics even when not directly in power — a fact acknowledged by former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa in November 2022.
Those allegations against the military’s involvement in politics have been amplified in recent weeks, amid a crackdown on Imran Khan and his party.
So how will the elections work? You can access our explainer on the voting process in Pakistan here.
Remote-controlled bomb used in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa blast
By Islam Gul Afridi in Peshawar
According to the police, a roadside remote-controlled bomb was used to target a police vehicle in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Preliminary reports say one officer was killed and six wounded. They are being transferred to Mufti Mehmood Hospital. The area is being cordoned off for evidence to be collected.