Islamabad, Feb 8 (EFE).- Pakistani voters headed to the polls on Thursday as the troubled democracy faces turbulent times marked by a crackdown on the opposition and a spike in militant violence in the run-up to the elections overshadowed by doubts over being free and fair.
After a slow start in the morning, voting picked up pace as thousands of voters queued up outside heavily guarded polling stations across the country to elect a new government for a five-year term amid increased security threats.
According to the election body, polling started at 8 a.m. local time and will continue until 5 p.m. The counting of millions of votes cast will start soon after to declare representatives for the 266 seats of the National Assembly, the lower house of the parliament, and four provincial assemblies.
More than 700,000 police, paramilitary, and armed forces personnel have been deployed across the country to deal with any untoward situation, the polling body has stated.
Authorities suspended mobile networks across the country “in the light of deteriorating security situation and to mitigate potential security threats.”
NetBlocks, a global internet watchdog, said on X that real-time network data showed “internet blackouts are now in effect in multiple regions of Pakistan in addition to mobile network disruptions.”
“The incident comes on election day and follows months of digital censorship targeting the political opposition.”
The elections are taking place against the backdrop of a crackdown against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party after he was ousted by parliament in 2022.
The 71-year-old charismatic cricketer-turned-politician and many of his party leaders are in jail after multiple convictions on various charges, including revealing state secrets and corruption.
Charges against Khan, the widely popular politician, also include an un-Islamic and illegal marriage with his third wife, Bushra Bibi, a faith healer, who has also been jailed.
Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has effectively been barred from contesting after the country’s top court stripped it of its cricket bat election symbol, which is crucial for voters in a country where the adult literacy rate is just 58 percent.
Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has effectively been barred from contesting after the country’s top court stripped it of its cricket bat election symbol, which are crucial for voters in the country where the adult literacy rate is just 58 percent.
The PTI has alleged that the military and Pakistan’s caretaker government suppressed the party and made it difficult for its leaders to contest. Both have denied the allegations.
To circumvent the restrictions, the party has put up independent candidates and is using social media to urge voters in each constituency to recognize the contestants it is supporting.
In Khan’s absence, scions of the country’s elite political dynasties – Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari – are the front-runners vying for the prime ministership.
Sharif is apparently the frontrunner, allegedly with the tacit approval of the powerful army, which has ousted several past governments and imposed martial law in the country.
Sharif was jailed for corruption ahead of the 2018 election that Khan won. He went into self-exile in the United Kingdom for health reasons and returned after his brother, Shehbaz Sharif, succeeded Khan and secured exoneration from all corruption charges.
But Bhutto-Zardari, 35, son of the assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, could present a formidable challenge to Sharif in an election whose credibility and fairness are already in question.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Volker Türk, urged Pakistani authorities to ensure a “fully free and fair vote” in a statement Tuesday.
“Elections are an important moment to reaffirm the country’s commitment to human rights and democracy, and to ensure the right to participation of all its people, including women and minorities,” the statement said.
OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell said there have been no less than 24 reported instances in which armed groups have staged attacks against members of political parties.
The UN rights agency “voiced concern over the pattern of harassment, arrests and prolonged detentions of leaders and supporters” Imran Khan, who has been embroiled in multiple legal cases and disqualified from running.
“We expect the higher courts will carefully review these conclusions in line with applicable due process and fair trial rights and Pakistan’s wider international human rights obligations,” Throssell said.
The elections also come as the country is battling a resurgent insurgency, particularly in the restive Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in the run-up to the vote, with militants mainly targeting poll offices and the candidates.
On Wednesday, at least 28 people were killed and nearly 50 injured in two blasts targeting election offices in Balochistan. Islamic State militants owned the attacks.
The new government besides curbing insurgency will also face the challenge of an economy in turmoil as the country suffers from double-digit inflation.
More than 128 million registered voters, only 46 percent women, will be voting for 5,112 contestants vying for 266 contestable parliamentary seats. These include 313 women and two transgender candidates.
The National Assembly comprises 266 general seats, 60 non-elected reserved seats for women, and 10 non-elected seats for minorities, making a house of 336 members.
Three main political parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party are in the race to form a government. EFE
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