Even after a lapse of more than seven hours, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has not given any reason for the delay leading to the expression of suspicions from contesting parties.
Prior to the elections, the electoral watchdog had introduced a new system called the Election Management System (EMS) to organize the results, but so far, the performance of the system has belied the ECP claims.
Candidates observing the count at polling stations said they saw significant leads suddenly disappear or results that were announced in their favor only to be reversed to declare an opponent the winner. They said they were marched off polling station grounds or barred from entering once voting ended and that polling agents were stopped from collecting results.
The majority of irregularities and impediments were reported by independent candidates backed by imprisoned ex-premier Imran Khan’s party.