Pakistan Electoral Body Delays Notifying Results of Majority of PTI-Backed Independents, Voters Express Concern

Defense News ,Pakistan :- As political parties in Pakistan engage in discussions to form the government, the official announcement of victories for most independent candidates who secured seats in the National Assembly (NA) during the general elections is still pending, as reported by Dawn on Sunday.

Unofficial results indicate that more than 101 independent candidates, largely supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have emerged victorious in the NA seats. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has yet to officially notify the results for a majority of these candidates. This delay has sparked concerns among voters and stakeholders, especially amidst the ongoing political maneuvering for government formation at the Centre.

Until Saturday evening, the ECP had officially declared the results for only eight independent candidates, with the victory of 33 more being announced through a late-night notification. The ECP has, so far, notified the results for 154 out of the total 265 NA constituencies where elections took place on Feb 8, including 41 independents.

According to Rule 92(6), independent candidates have three days to join a political party after the official notification of their victory. The ECP, however, faces criticism for the slow pace of notifying results, affecting the overall political landscape.

Dawn reported that Raja Khurram Nawaz from NA-48 (Islamabad) was the first independent candidate to be officially notified as the returned candidate on Feb 12, two days after announcing his affiliation with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The delay in notifying victories has also affected PTI-backed independent candidates, such as former Punjab Governor Mian Mohammad Azhar from NA-129 (Lahore) and Ghulam Mohammad from NA-93 (Chiniot).

The situation started to improve with the ECP notifying victories for various candidates, including former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, former NA speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and IPP leader Abdul Aleem Khan.

Despite the challenges, the ECP continues to release victory notifications, with the latest on Feb 16 including an independent candidate from NA-54 (Rawalpindi) Aqeel Malik, and three PTI-backed independents Mohammad Ilyas Chaudhary, Osama Malik, and Nisar Ahmad from NA-62 (Gujrat), NA-83 (Sargodha), and NA-100 (Faisalabad) respectively.