Pakistan Elections 2024 LIVE: Re-Elections to be Held Today in Various Polling Stations

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on February 10 said that re-polling is to be held today in several polling stations of NA-88 (Khushab II), PS-18 (Ghotki I) and PK-90 (Kohat I), according to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The reason for re-election in more than a dozen polling stations of PK-90 was the “polling material there being damaged by terrorists”, the election commission said.

Secretary Information of PMLN, Marriyum Aurangazeb has said that Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam Sharif has been nominated to be the CM of Punjab. She'll become the state's first female chief minister. 

In recent developments, the PML-N's chief Nawaz Sharif has nominated his younger brother and former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the PM's post. 

In his message from the Adiala Jail, Former Prime Minister Imran Khan warned against the misadventure of forming govt with 'stolen votes'. He went on to express gratitude to the people who voted for PTI-backed independent candidates. “I express my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Pakistan for entrusting PTI with a resounding 2/3rd majority. It was heartening to see the massive turnout. The families voting together, including women and children—truly exemplified the essence of democracy. I would like to especially commend our Social Media for its relentless efforts to stay ahead of the curve,” Prime Minister wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. “I also appreciate the role of the resilient polling agents who secured form 45 in the face of harassment and threats. As the people of Pakistan have clearly pronounced their verdict, there is a dire need for democracy and fairness in Pakistan's elections. I warn against the misadventure of forming a government with stolen votes. Such daylight robbery will not only be a disrespect to the citizens, but will also push the country’s economy further into a downward spiral,” he added. Khan pledged that to ensure that his party will not compromise with “people's will”. “PTI will never compromise on people’s will, and I have categorically instructed my party against engaging with any political party that has robbed people's mandate, including PPP, PMLN & MQM,” the former Pakistani premier concluded. 

PTI spokesperson Raoof Hassan announced on Tuesday that party founder Imran Khan has given the go-ahead to the party for the formation of the government with the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen in the Centre and Punjab. “And in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, for reserved seats, we will form a coalition with the Jamaat-i-Islami,” he said. “Imran has a clear message that formation of a government is the right of who had won the elections,” he told a press conference in Islamabad, Dawn reported.  

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that his party does not have a mandate to form a government in the federation. “Due to this, I will not be putting myself forward for the candidacy of the prime minister of Pakistan,” he said in a press briefing. He further highlighted now that the PTI had refused to form a coalition with the PPP which left the PML-N as the only party that had invited the PPP to join the government.

Barrister Gohar Khan has given details of all the National Assembly seats allegedly won by the PTI. 

• 3 seats in Islamabad
• 4 seats in Balochistan
• 115 seats in Punjab
• 16 seats in Sindh
• 42 seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

“This way, the PTI has won 180 seats in Pakistan and this is the public’s mandate. We will share the Form-45s in the form of a white paper,” Gohar said at a press conference outside Adiala Jail. “We request the judiciary and ECP take responsibility and announce a decision on this,” he added.

While speaking to the media, Barrister Ali Zafar Khan said that PTI will hold intra-party polls within a week or 10 days. “You must remember that intra-party elections were ready and the process is underway […] today, Khan sahib told us to speed up the process,” he said in a media talk outside Adiala Jail, Geo News reported. While explaining the whole thing, Zafar stated that the Election Commission of Pakistan will have to “accept the intra-party polls”.

While serving his prison sentence, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf has ruled out any sort of talks with PML-N, PPP and MQM. PTI shared the news on X, formally known as Twitter. 

The former Prime Minister of Pakistan said that PML-N's rival PTI-backed independent candidates can form a government if they have a majority. “If PTI-sponsored candidates can show majority [in the National Assembly] then they should form a government,” he said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday. "We will accept them [PTI government] happily if they fail to [form government] then we will use our Constitutional and legal right," the PML-N president added. 

Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf, shared images of dozens of women who were robbed of their mandate due to massive rigging in Pakistan elections. The list shared by the party also included Dr Yasmin Rashid who contested polls against PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.   

The founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan on Tuesday nominated Ali Amin Gandapur, his party's leader from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as the province's chief minister. According to Geo New, the PTI leader made the new public during an informal conversation with a journalist at the Adiala Jail. 

Amid all the chaos, the private petition has been filed in the Supreme Court on Monday to declare the Feb 8 general elections null and void. According to the Pakistani news outlet Dawn, the private petition also called for repolling within 30 days. It also sought a stay order to stop the formation of a new government till the case was decided. The petition was filed by an individual named Ali Khan. 

As top political parties struggle to form a government, the Pakistan Peoples Party-Parliamentarian (PPPP), is contemplating making a potential office to let the PTI take the lead in forming the central government. However, if the PTI falters, the party might go ahead with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), The Express Tribune reported. 

Pakistan's Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said that “justified complaints regarding the polls would be redressed in accordance with the law”, Radio Pakistan reported. He noted that around 18,000 candidates took part in the elections, while 90,000 polling stations were set up that enabled more than 60 million persons to cast their votes. 

During a joint press conference of Pakistan People's Party in Islamabad, party leader Sherry Rehman said that a panel has been formed to examine irregularities in the elections. They said, "They are examining the irregularities in the elections, there are reservations in the four provinces regarding the elections, a committee has been formed which will contact all other political parties, the CEC meeting will continue tomorrow as well. Later, the final declaration will be presented.”

The United States has urged authorities in Pakistan to hold an independent probe into the claims of irregularities and rigging during the general elections in the country through its legal system. The final results of the February 8 polls suffered from inordinate delay, raising doubts over elections’ transparency.

Leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) held a meeting with Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday. During the meeting, PTI leaders Raoof Hassan and Umer Niazi informed the Pakistani president about the irregularities during the February 8 polls. “A delegation of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, comprising of Mr Raoof Hassan and Mr Umair Niazi, called on President Dr Arif Alvi, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad,” the office of the Pakistan president wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. 

After a deplorable performance in the February 8 polls, Istehkam-i-Pakistan chief Jahangir Khan Tareen stepped down from office and quit politics. “I would like to thank everyone who supported me in this election and want to offer my congratulations to my opponents. I have immense respect for the will of the people of Pakistan. Therefore, I have decided to resign from my position as Chairman IPP and step away from politics altogether,” Tareen wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. “My gratitude to all the members of IPP. I wish them the absolute best. By the Grace of Allah, I will continue to serve my country to the best of my ability in a private capacity. May the next few years see Pakistan prosper IA,” he added. 

Pakistani political veteran Sirajul Haq announced his resignation as the chief of Jamaat-i-Islami. In a post on X, formally known as Twitter. Haq, “accepted the responsibility” of the party's poor performance in the polls. “Despite hard work and effort, I could not achieve success. I am accepting the responsibility of defeat in the election and resigned from the Chairmanship of Jamaat-e-Islami,” 

Pakistan's Former Information Minister and PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb said that her party has not finalised a candidate for premiership thus far. Aurangzeb was refuting senior party leader Khawaja Asif's comment in which he stated that Nawaz Sharif would not be PML-N’s prime ministerial candidate and instead his brother Shehbaz was the party’s choice". “The statement of senior party leader Khawaja Muhammad Asif is being presented out of context. The party wants to clarify that the name of the prime ministerial candidate has not been decided yet. The name will be decided unanimously as a result of coalition and political consultation. No final decision has been taken in this regard yet, discussions and contacts are going on, after completion of which the nation will be taken into confidence through the media,” Aurangzeb wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. 

While addressing a news conference on Monday, Pakistan Premier Anwaarul Haq Kakar brushed off criticism from US lawmakers regarding the general elections and insisted that it was “not a big deal”. Kakar said US Congress members did not “represent the gospel truth” and were not the “pedestal of do [and] does [not]”, Dawn reported. 

Defending his administration, Pakistan's caretaker PM Anwaar Ul Haq Kakar said that the February 8 polls were conducted in a “free and fair manner”. “We did not have any institutional mechanism either in fear or favour of an entity, political group or individual,” he said, adding the same was the stated policy of the caretaker government. “I personally feel we should have a more robust and financially independent election commission,” he added. 

Amid the ongoing turmoil in Pakistan, PTI leader Hammad Azhar said that there is “heavy” police deployment outside the party's office in Lahore. “Police continue to waste time with heavy deployment outside PTI’s Lahore office. I think they don’t remember that it was burnt down by ‘unidentified men’ last month & police have yet to register an FIR. Since then the place has been empty so no use standing outside here,” Azhar wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. 

Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) took to Twitter to laud JI's Hafiz Naeem's decision to give up his seat in favour of a candidate backed by PTI. “Independent candidate PTI has got more votes than me, I am so confident that I will not keep this seat. Hafiz Naeemur Rehman,” the party wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. “Tehreek-e-Insaaf highly appreciates this decision and expects similar honesty from other political candidates. There is no democracy without transparency,” the statement further reads. 

Amid growing speculations of electoral malpractices, the Election Commission of Pakistan on Monday notified that the body has set up four counters in front of their office to facilitate those filing petitions against election results. The authorities noted that each counter will correspond to one province and will offer support to individuals visiting the Election Secretariat for the submission of election petitions. “The Election Commission has set up four counters for the guidance and convenience of the people coming to the Election Commission Secretariat to file election petitions. A separate counter has been set up to receive applications from each province. These four counters are in the Commission building,” the electoral watchdog wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. 

Leader of the Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman on Monday announced that he would relinquish his winning provincial assembly seat from Karachi, claiming that his PTI-backed rival actually won the constituency.  Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Hafiz Naeem said he was returning the seat, but would continue the legal and political battle to reclaim all the seats that his party lost due to rigging, Geo News reported. Naeem won the Sindh Assembly seat PS-129 from Karachi Central.

Pakistan's Former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari slammed the Pakistan Supreme Court and insisted that by denying PTI its electoral symbol, the apex court denied women and minorities their right to have reserved seats in the parliament. "CJP-headed SC bench decision was never just abt only denying a party symbol but it also meant denial of reserved women & minority seats. Over the years we have added to the English language by redefining so many concepts including the concept of "fair & free" & "level playing field"!" Mazari wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. 

Here's a look at how the 2024 Pakistan Elections fared in terms of figures: 

Ruling out the possibility of forming a coalition with PPP or PML-N, PTI leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan hinted that Imran Khan's party would rather sit on the opposition bench instead of compromising with a party. “We would prefer to sit on the opposition benches instead of compromising our position and would make the final decision in this regard within a day or two,” Khan told Pakistani news outlet Geo News. 

The supporters of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf conducted demonstrations in Paris on Monday. The protesters accused the Pakistan authorities of conducting electoral malpractices. On Saturday similar protests were held in Manchester and Washington. 

Musarrat Cheema, the leader of the PTI, has declared that she will stay in the party.

She stated, "I am in the PTI and will remain, God willing," in a post on X. However, Dawn stated that "whoever caused harm to the party will face consequences."

A militant ringleader, associated with the banned outfit Daesh, was killed by Pakistani security forces during an intelligence-based operation in the restive Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Sunday. The security forces conducted an operation after getting information on the reported presence of a “high-profile terrorist” in the area, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army.

Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday said the voters, particularly women and youth, have "not only spoken but shouted out loud their will" in the general elections and urged all political parties and institutions to "respect and recognise" the huge mandate of the citizens.

Hello Readers, 

Before we continue with our latest coverage on the 2024 Pakistan Election, here's a look at what has happened as of now: 

• On February 8, Pakistan went to polls after multiple delays. 
• Iman Khan's Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf couldn't contest as a party since it lost its electoral bat symbol. Hence, the party members contested the polls as independents. 
• On the day of the polls, the authorities suspended mobile and internet services, citing security concerns. 
• Many accused the regime of rigging elections and videos of ruckus in poll stations circulated online. 
• Independent candidates backed by PTI left the country in shock as they gained major lead in the polls. 
• PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif celebrated "prematurely" and said that his party is open to forming an alliance with PPP and JUI-F. 
• PTI mulls an alliance with MWM, a small party that provided support to them during local elections. 
• While PML-N plans to form an alliance with PPP and MQM-P, PTI accuses the ruling regime of polling malpractices. 

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