Pakistan Election Result 2024 Highlights: PTI-Backed Independents Await Election Results Notification

As political parties in Pakistan deliberate on forming their government, it has been reported by Dawn on Sunday that the notification of victory for most independent candidates who won National Assembly (NA) seats in the general elections is yet to be issued by the Pakistan electoral body.

Unofficial results indicate that more than 101 independent candidates, most of whom were backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have won NA seats.

Photo Credit: PTI

PTI-Backed Independents Await Election Results

The delay in officially notifying the results of a majority of the independent candidates by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has raised concerns among their voters and stakeholders amid political wrangling over the numbers game for the formation of the government in the Centre.

Until Saturday evening, the ECP had only notified the result of eight of them and declared the victory of 33 more through a late-night notification. While under the election rules, independent candidates have three days to join a political party after the official notification of their victory, the ECP has so far notified results of 154 out of a total of 265 NA constituencies, where elections took place on Feb 8. They include 41 independents.

Notification of Independent Candidates' Victories by ECP: Recent Developments

• Raja Khurram Nawaz from NA-48 (Islamabad) was the first independent candidate to be notified as the returned candidate, with his notification issued on Feb 12, two days after announcing his joining Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

  • On the same day, the Election Commission notified the results of two more NA constituencies from Islamabad, declaring PML-N candidates Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Anjum Aqeel Khan victorious, along with declaring Sadiq Iftikhar of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan as the winner from NA-238 (Karachi).
  • Former Punjab Governor Mian Mohammad Azhar from NA-129 (Lahore) and Ghulam Mohammad from NA-93 (Chiniot), both PTI-backed independent candidates, were declared successful on Feb 13.
  • Additionally, on the same day, the ECP notified the victory of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif, daughter Maryam Nawaz, nephew Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar, and IPP's Awn Saqlain, all from Lahore.
  • On Feb 14, the ECP notified victories of over two dozen contestants, including former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf from NA-52 (Rawalpindi), former NA speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq from NA-120 (Lahore), and Noor Alam Khan, frequent party changer from NA-28 (Peshawar), this time representing Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F).
  • Notably, none of those notified on Feb 14 was independent.
  • The following day, the ECP notified victories of PTI-backed independent candidate Adil Khan Bazai from NA-262 (Quetta), JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman from NA-265 (Pishin), and IPP leader Abdul Aleem Khan from NA-117 (Lahore), as reported by Dawn.
  • On Feb 16, the ECP issued victory notifications, including one for an independent candidate from NA-54 (Rawalpindi) Aqeel Malik.
  • Lastly, on Saturday, three PTI-backed independents, namely Mohammad Ilyas Chaudhary from NA-62 (Gujrat), Osama Malik from NA-83 (Sargodha), and Nisar Ahmad from NA-100 (Faisalabad), were notified.