Independents Backed by Imran Khan Party Lead As Poll Panel Declares Results
Independent candidates linked to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan were leading the count in Pakistan's elections, local TV channels said Friday.
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Independent candidates linked to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan were leading the count in Pakistan's election, local TV channels said Friday.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was barred from contesting Thursday's election as a bloc, but unofficial tallies by local TV channels showed independent candidates -- including dozens anointed by his party -- leading in the most constituencies.
The first official result -- the seat going to a PTI candidate -- was announced shortly after 4:30 am (2330 GMT) more than 11 hours after polling ended.
The TV stations were basing their projections on counting done at the local constituency level.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had been expected to win the most seats following Thursday's vote, with analysts saying its 74-year-old founder Nawaz Sharif had the blessing of the military-led establishment.
But local TV channels said the party had performed poorly –- with Sharif trailing his opponent in one of the constituencies he contested.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
