Pakistan election results 2024 Highlights: Imran Khan to decide next PM, claims PTI chief

Supporters of imprisoned Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Imran Khan's and Jamaat-e-Islami party chant slogans during a protest against the delaying result of parliamentary election in Karachi on February 10.

Pakistan election results 2024 Highlights: No clear victor has emerged from the divisive elections in Pakistan as the slow vote-counting process neared completion on Saturday. According to PTI, which cited the Election Commission of Pakistan, the counting of 255 out of 266 seats of the National Assembly has been completed and the independent candidates, a vast majority of them backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, were on the top with 101 seats.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has won 73 seats, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 54, Muttahida Qaumi Movement with 17 and other seats going to smaller parties.

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The success of PTI-backed Independent candidates disrupted Sharif’s plans — and the backing of the security establishment — prompting him to announce efforts on Friday to establish a coalition government.

Just a day earlier, Sharif had adamantly dismissed the notion of a coalition, expressing his desire for a single party to govern Pakistan for a full five-year term after casting his vote.

Key Highlights:

• Earlier, Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir congratulated the country for the “successful conduct” of its national elections. He said that the country needed “stable hands” to move on from the politics of "anarchy and polarisation".
• Munir said that he “wishes that these elections bring in political and economic stability and prove to be the harbinger of peace and prosperity” for Pakistan.
• Both former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan have declared victory in the elections.
• The US, Britain and the European Union, meanwhile, have expressed concerns about Pakistan's electoral process, urging a probe into reported irregularities.
• Interim PTI chairman Gohar Khan has claimed that candidates backed by his party are ahead on 170 National Assembly seats out of the 265.