The General Elections 2024 in Pakistan have seen independent candidates consolidating their lead over mainstream political parties, with over a hundred independent candidates winning seats in the National Assembly for the first time ever, according to results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) till Saturday.
Supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), independent candidates have secured over 300 seats when the number of winners in the provincial assemblies is added. They have achieved a clean sweep in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and gained a significant number of seats in Punjab.
The PTI was unable to contest the elections directly due to the denial of its electoral symbol of ‘bat’ following controversial intra-party elections. Instead, the party fielded candidates as independent with different electoral symbols.
By Saturday, the ECP had released the results of 255 National Assembly constituencies. Elections could not be held in one National Assembly and three provincial assembly seats due to the death of candidates. Re-polling was ordered at one National and two provincial constituencies.
The 100 PTI-backed independent candidates are followed by 73 seats of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), 54 of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), 17 of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), and others.
In Punjab, out of 295 Punjab Assembly contests, both the PTI-backed independents and the PML-N won 137 seats each, followed by other parties. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI-backed independents swept the elections, winning the majority of seats in both the National Assembly and provincial assembly contests.
Overall, the elections have seen a significant turnout of voters, with millions exercising their democratic right across the country. The ECP has put on hold the results of certain constituencies due to various reasons, including the announcement of re-polling in some areas.
