Terrorism continues despite the deployment of 650,000 troops… 28 people died the day before the general election, at least 8 people died on the day
Authorities suspend mobile phone service due to worsening public order… Politicians “rob the right to access information”
A polling station in Karachi, Pakistan, on the 8th
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(New Delhi = Yonhap News) Correspondent Yoo Chang-yeop = Voting for the general election was held on the 8th (local time) in Pakistan, South Asia, which is in turmoil due to economic difficulties, political instability, and terrorism.
Voting was conducted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day.
Approximately 128 million voters directly elect 266 members of the Federal House of Representatives for five-year terms.
The 70 seats in the House of Representatives allocated to women and religious minorities are divided among the parties that receive more than 5% of the votes according to their vote percentage.
Legislative elections in four states, including Punjab, were also held.
The results of the general election are expected to be released the next day, on the 9th.
There are predictions that voter turnout will not be high.
This is because the Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI), led by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, was restricted from campaigning, and cynicism about terrorism by gunmen and political strife continued.
This general election should have been held before November of the same year, within 90 days according to the Constitution after the dissolution of the House of Representatives in August of last year.
However, the National Election Commission postponed the decision on the general election schedule due to the adjustment of electoral districts according to the census results, and eventually the general election date was confirmed as February 8 of this year due to the intervention of the Supreme Court.
The general election is being held amid continued economic difficulties and political instability due to delays in structural reform.
Terrorism by armed men attempting to disrupt voting in the general election continued the day before and on the day of the general election.
The day before the general election, a series of bombings occurred near two general election candidate offices in the southwestern province of Balochistan, killing at least 28 people and injuring about 30 others.
On the same day, gunmen detonated a bomb and then opened fire on a police van in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing five police officers and killing at least eight security forces across the country.
Troops patrolling in Lahore, Pakistan, on the 8th, the day of the general election.
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Pakistani authorities deployed approximately 650,000 security forces, including military and police, to approximately 90,000 polling stations in preparation for any emergency.
The Ministry of the Interior issued a statement on this day and announced that it had temporarily suspended mobile phone services nationwide in consideration of the worsening security situation.
The Ministry of Home Affairs did not specify how long mobile phone service would be suspended.
Some political circles have called for the immediate restoration of services, saying that the people’s right to communication and access to information has been robbed.
There has been early analysis that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is likely to win this general election with the support of the military, which is considered Pakistan’s ‘powerhouse’.
If his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) wins, he will become prime minister for the fourth time.
After casting his vote at a polling station in the eastern city of Lahore, former Prime Minister Sharif told reporters that he had not had any dealings with the military.
He added, “Actually, I’ve never had a problem with the military.”
At the same time, he said, “Please don’t talk about a coalition government,” and expressed confidence that his party could secure a majority of seats.
During this general election, PTI also received intensive media attention.
Former Prime Minister Khan, who founded PTI, has been in conflict with the military over foreign policy and other issues since coming to power after winning the 2018 general election. Afterwards, he was pushed out from the position of prime minister due to a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly in April 2022.
Former Prime Minister Khan was imprisoned for three years on corruption charges in August last year, and was sentenced to additional prison terms three times in succession last week alone.
Having suffered a setback in his run for the general election, he held an online rally, unprecedented in Pakistan, to reach out to young supporters.
He reportedly voted by mail from prison.
The day before, PTI directly attacked the military, telling reporters that the military was carrying out the “worst political maneuver” in decades to get the results they wanted.
In addition, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who leads the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), is also seeking the position of prime minister.
Zardari is the son of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s first female prime minister, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (April 2022 to August 2023) during the term of former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Some experts interpreted the authorities’ ban on using PTI’s party symbol as a reflection of the military’s concern that PTI candidates could still be a deciding factor in this general election.
Meanwhile, human rights groups criticized that this general election was not conducted fairly due to military intervention.
Voters disrupt a polling station in Lahore, Pakistan.
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2024/02/08 21:32 Sent
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2024-02-08 12:32:23
