Imran Khan-backed candidates in lead as Pakistan awaits final poll results

KARACHI, Pakistan

Independent candidates backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan are in lead as final results of Pakistan's high-stake elections are awaited.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has so far announced provisional results of 237 out of 265 direct seats of the lower house – the National Assembly – until Friday evening, state-run Pakistan Television reported.

Elections on one National Assembly seat was postponed due to the death of a candidate.

According to the provisional results, the PTI-affiliated independents have won 95 seats, followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, 66, and center-left Pakistan People's Party (PPP), 51 seats.

Over 30 seats have been won by several regional and religiopolitical parties.

Full results are expected to be declared in next few hours.

A party requires 169 seats in a 336-member National Assembly to form the government with a simple majority.

The PML-N has won 144 out of total 297 general seats of the Punjab provincial assembly, followed by PTI-backed independents who have clinched 130 seats.

In northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the PTI is in clear lead, whereas in the southern Sindh province, the PPP has won majority provincial assembly seats.

In southwestern Balochistan, the country's largest province in terms of land but smallest in terms of population, a coalition government is expected as no party has won seats required for a simple majority.

Millions of people cast their vote on Thursday to elect new parliament and lawmakers for four provincial assemblies. However, final results have not been declared yet.

While final results are awaited, Pakistan's three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called for a "unity government" as provisional election results indicated a hung federal government.

Sharif said the "only solution" to the simmering political and economic crises is for "all political parties to join hands and form a unity government."