LAHORE: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed confidence his party would win national elections on Thursday, a vote that has been marred by violence.
A day before the election, at least 30 people were killed in bombings at political offices, and sporadic attacks on Thursday appeared aimed at disrupting the balloting.
Sharif brushed off suggestions his Pakistan Muslim League party might not win an outright majority in the parliament and would need to form a coalition to govern.
“For God’s sake, don’t mention a coalition government,” he said after casting his vote in the upscale Model Town neighborhood of Lahore.
“Once this election is over,” Nawaz Sharif said, “we will sit down and decide who is PM (prime minister) and who is CM (chief minister)” of Punjab province, a job that is regarded as a stepping stone to becoming premier.
In spite of the security worries and bitter winter cold, people lined up at polling stations hours before voting was due to start. "The country is at stake, why should I come late?" said 86-year-old Mumtaz, a housewife a decade older than Pakistan itself as she queued up in Islamabad.
First-time voter Haleema Shafiq, a 22-year-old psychology student, said she believed in the importance of voting.
“I believe in democracy. I want a government that can make Pakistan safer for girls,” she told AFP in Islamabad.
In the central city of Multan, Ayesha Bibi said the next government must provide more schools for rural women.
“We came here by foot and then on a tractor trailer. It was a very difficult and hard journey,” said the housewife.
The national assembly has 265 seats and polling in one seat was postponed due to the death of a candidate. A party needs 133 seats for a simple majority but many analysts believe the vote may not produce a clear winner.
Thousands of troops were deployed on the streets and at polling stations across the country and borders with Iran and Afghanistan were temporarily closed as security was stepped up to ensure peaceful polling.
Despite the heightened security, nine people, including two children, were killed in bomb blasts, grenade attacks and shootings.
The polls closed on Thursday evening, and ballot counting began. Sikandar Sultan Raja, chief election commissioner, said officials would communicate the results to the oversight body by early Friday, with the outcome released to the public after that.
If no single party wins a simple majority, the first-placed gets a chance to form a coalition.
Still, that Sharif appears to be the main contender represents a remarkable reversal of fortunes for the three-time prime minister, who returned to the country last October after four years of self-imposed exile abroad to avoid serving prison sentences. Within weeks of his return, his convictions were overturned, leaving him free to seek a fourth term in office.
His archrival, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, meanwhile, is behind bars and banned from running after a series of convictions, including some just days before the election. Khan was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and now has more than 150 legal cases hanging over him.
Candidates from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party have been forced to run as independents after the Supreme Court and Election Commission said they can’t use the party symbol — a cricket bat. In Pakistan, parties use symbols to help illiterate voters find them on the ballots.
Khan is only allowed to watch the state broadcaster PTV in prison, and he gets one newspaper a day, the English-language daily Dawn. He planned to watch TV and read the paper on election day, his party said, and his lawyers will brief him when they get the chance to see him.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar congratulated the nation on the elections. Without sharing details, he said turnout was high and that “voices, expressed through the votes, will contribute to the fortification of our democracy.”
In Lahore, mother and daughter Risham and Bishmah Ahmer were early arrivals at their polling station. Bishmah Ahmer, a 20-year-old first-time voter and electrical engineering student, said she hoped there wouldn’t be any cheating.
“I want a government that creates more job opportunities. I also want better education and health care systems,” she said.
Her mother was disappointed at the treatment of Khan and his party — but wasn’t deterred. “It’s important for us to vote, it’s our responsibility.”
