Pakistan election: Armed forces at scene of Quetta explosion top stories direct to your inbox SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Voters are taking to the polls for the first time since 2013 today in a huge election with the two frontrunners thought to be neck and neck. More than 30 political parties and 12,570 candidates are in the running for the elections. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is looking like the favourites to unseat the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-M). The Pakistan’s Peoples Party (PPP), which is led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is also expected to gain seats across the country. The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), all alliance of right-wind religious parties, should also pick up seats. What time will the results come in? Voters took to the polls at 8am PKT (4am BST) today and will be open for eight hours until 6pm PKT (2pm BST). Votes will then be counted on the spot, with results being reached in the next 24 hours. Pakistan election results 2018: Voters are taking to the polls today The results could be announced from 7pm local time (3pm BST) to 2am (10pm BST). However, the voting commission in Pakistan will release the results by constituency, as well as projections and votes polled for the candidates on each seat. The election results will also come in live on the official Pakistan election website: www.ecp.gov.pk. A poll carried out earlier this month on 3,752 people showed Khan’s PTI were ahead by four percentage points. Pakistan election results 2018: Cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan arrives to cast his vote Pakistan election results 2018: Pakistani security personnel gather at the site of a suicide attack The latest opinion polls have hinted at a possible coalition with the PPP, as neither Khan nor Sharif seem like to win with a clear majority. What has happened during the General Election so far? About 371,000 soldiers have been stationed at polling stations across the country to prevent attacks, nearly five times the number deployed at the last election in 2013. At least 25 people have been killed and 40 injured in a van blast while people were voting in Quetta. Pakistan Election 2018: Latest pictures from the polling stations Wed, July 25, 2018 Polls have opened in Pakistan for the country's parliamentary elections Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 23 A police officer guides a family as they prepare to cast their votes during the general election in Karachi<doc-sep>Pakistan election results update: Millions of Pakistanis went to the polls on Wednesday to vote top stories direct to your inbox SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Pakistan election: Ballot boxes are being emptied and counted Early projections from four local TV channels all put Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ahead, estimating it would win between 107 and 120 of 272 elected seats available. Sharif’s outgoing ruling party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was estimated at between 42 and 69. However these projections were based on only about 20 percent of votes counted. Shehbaz Sharif, the leader of PML-N said his party “wholly rejects” the election results because of irregularities. He wrote on Twitter: “Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) wholly rejects the results of General Elections 2018 due to manifest and massive irregularities. “Form 45 was not given to our agents, results were stopped and votes were counted in the absence of our poll agents. This is both unbearable and unacceptable.” Shehbaz told reporters in Lahore: “We completely reject this result, completely.” The Election Commission of Pakistan Secretary said the results will be shared as soon as they are in. Babar Yaqoob told reporters: “We want to give you accurate results and we will have them as soon as they are in.” Pakistan election results update: Imran Khan's supporters have taken to the streets The third major party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, also complained that its polling agents were asked to leave during the vote count in a number of voting centres. PPP’s Bilabial Bhutto is also contesting the result. He says that he still hasn’t received official results from any constituency from where he contested. He wrote on Twitter: “It’s now past midnight and I haven’t received official results from any constituency I am contesting my myself. “My candidates complaining polling stations across the country. Inexcusable and outrageous.” Pakistan election pictures: Who will win the election? Khan ahead as first results in Wed, July 25, 2018 Imran Khan's supporters have already started celebrating the election result Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 16 A lion is tied to the roof of a jubilant Khan supporter's car More than 105 million people registered to vote in this election, at 85,000 polling stations. There are 110 registered political parties and 3,765 National Assembly candidates. Pakistan Television, the state tv, has put the PTI in the lead on 105 seats with the PML-N ahead on 71 seats after partial results. Pakistan’s National Assembly comprises a total of 342 members, of which 272 are directly elected, whereas the rest - 60 seats are reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities. These are selected later through proportional representation among parties with more than five percent of the vote. Pakistan election results update: Shehbaz Sharif, the leader of PML-N said he rejects the results Live results National Assembly Voters are electing 272 representatives of the National Assembley for the Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan provinces, and Islamabad Capital Territory and tribal areas. Counting of votes is under way and unofficial results from various constituencies have been announced by local media. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) PTI leads on 109 seats ​ Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz PML-N PML-N ahead on 67 seats Pakistan People's Party (PPP) PPP takes lead at 41 seats Pakistan election results update: All the major parties are contesting the results<doc-sep>Pakistan's 5 Biggest Post-Election Challenges Pakistan's next government will face myriad challenges, from unsustainable population growth to simmering extremism, all complicated by the decades-long tussle between civilian and military leadership. No matter who is voted into office after today's polls, the new rulers will have to make hard choices, and quickly. Here is a rundown of the biggest hurdles Pakistan is facing: - Terrorism - Pakistan has been battling terrorism which has originated from its own soil. Over the years, it has become a victim of its own creation. While terror originating from Pakistan is a massive threat to the rest of the world, security within the country has improved in recent times. Analysts, however, have long warned that Pakistan is not tackling the root causes of extremism, and terrorists can still carry out attacks at will. That includes during this election season, with a string of bombings at political events killing more than 180 people, including the second-deadliest terror attack in Pakistan's history. Analysts have warned that terrorists may be regrouping and seeking to reassert themselves after years of setbacks. - Economy - Pakistan's next government faces growing fears of a balance of payments crisis, with speculation mounting it will have to seek its second bailout in five years from the International Monetary Fund. The central bank is burning through foreign exchange reserves and devaluing the Pakistani rupee, including another five-percent dive this month, in a bid to bridge a widening trade deficit. Pakistan, which has long relied heavily on imports, increased its procurement of materials to help build a string of Chinese-backed infrastructure projects under a multi-billion-dollar investment package with Beijing. The terms of the projects are opaque, leading to fears about Islamabad's ability to pay for them. The economy has also been stung by higher oil prices. Meanwhile, meagre exports such as textiles have taken a hit from cheaper products by regional competitors, including China, while foreign remittances -- a major contributor to the economy -- have also slowed. The winner of the election will have "limited time" to act, Fitch ratings agency warned earlier this month. - Population growth - Conservative Pakistan, with its limited family planning, has one of the highest birth rates in Asia at around three children per woman, according to the World Bank and government figures. That has led to a fivefold increase of the population since 1960, now touching 207 million, draft results from last year's census show. The boom is negating hard-won economic and social progress in the developing country, experts have warned. To add to the problem, discussing contraception in public is taboo in Pakistan. Analysts say unless more is done to slow growth, the country's natural resources -- particularly drinking water -- will not be enough to support the population. - Water shortages - Pakistan is on the verge of an ecological disaster if authorities do not urgently address looming water shortages, experts say. Official estimates show that by 2025 the country will be facing an "absolute scarcity" of water, with less than 500 cubic metres available per person -- just one-third of the water available in parched Somalia, according to the UN. Pakistan has just three major water storage basins, compared with more than a thousand in South Africa or Canada. As such, any surplus water is quickly lost. Political initiative will be essential to building infrastructure to reverse the course of the impending crisis. There is also little in the way of public education on water conservation. - Civil-military relations - Pakistan has spent roughly half its nearly 70-year history under military rule, and the imbalance of power in between civilian governments and the armed forces has long been seen as an impediment to democracy and progress. Hope surged in 2013 as the country saw its first-ever transition of power from one democratically-elected government to another. But since then, experts have warned of a "creeping coup", fuelled by tensions between the generals and the government of three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, largely attributed to his desire to assert civilian supremacy and seek warmer relations with India. Nawaz Sharif, ousted in 2017 and arrested for corruption earlier this month, says he and his party are being targeted by the military. Activists and several prominent journalists have also accused the military of trying to install a pliant civilian government through pressure on politicians and the media. It denies the allegations. The next government will be tasked with meeting the country's challenges without upsetting this delicate balance of power. (Courtesy: AFP)<doc-sep>When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox Parliamentary elections will go ahead for Pakistan today as voters take to the polls for the first time since 2013. A major shake-up could take place, as two major parties face off against one another in the landmark elections. Imran Khan’s party Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) will face the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by the family of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The National Assembly has 272 general seats up for grabs, and a further 577 Provincial Assembly seats could be taken. In order to form a government, one party will need a total of 172 seats.<doc-sep>
Pakistan Election: Imran Khan boasts 'I am prepared the best' The election is expected to be a tight race, with Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) against Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Ex-cricketer turned politician Khan is perceived as the army favourite for Pakistan’s prime minister. For 20 years, Khan has been dismissed at the polls but his party is ahead on 30 percent in one survey against Sharif’s 27 percent. However in another poll, Sharif’s party tops another poll with 26 percent compared to 25 percent for Khan’s PTI. The incumbent PML-N is expected to lose ground to the PTI in Punjab province, where more than half of the 272 directly elected seats are located. Many PML-N candidates have switched loyalties before the polls, either joining the PTI or running as independents. In Sindh province, the PPP is expected to hold on to its rural base, but there will be an interesting fight for the 21 seats in Karachi, the provincial capital and the country’s largest city. The election comes as Pakistan’s economy is in crisis, with the rupee’s 20 percent decline spiking inflation and dwindling foreign currency reserves likely to force the second International Monetary Fund bailout since 2013. Pakistan election 2018 polls: Who will win the Pakistan election? If neither party wins a clear majority, the support of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party could be crucial to form a government. He is the son of two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007. The PPP could emerge as a coalition kingmaker if no party wins a majority, as many expect. Khan said: “If we have to make a coalition with either of the two main parties, the it means we can’t bring about any major reforms. Pakistan election 2018 polls: The country is preparing to go to the polls on July 25 “So, I wonder if it is worth even forming a government if you have to make an alliance with one of those two parties.” This election will see 272 general seats of the National Assembly and 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies - Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan - up for grabs. An additional 10 seats are reserved for minorities and 60 for women, which are filled based on proportional representation of the 272 general seats. The Provincial Assembly consists of 577 general seats, while 151 seats are reserved for minorities and women. Pakistan election 2018 polls: Shahbaz Sharif, the younger brother of ousted Pakistani Prime Minister