Pakistan holds election tainted by rigging claims

BBC News:

Tens of millions of Pakistanis head to the polls on Thursday to vote in a new government amid soaring inflation, rising violence and claims of rigging.

The election comes almost two years since the previous prime minister, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, was ousted in a no-confidence vote.

Khan was later jailed on corruption charges and is barred from standing.

Three-time PM Nawaz Sharif is on the ballot. Many analysts say it’s Pakistan’s least credible election yet.

Strict rules around election coverage – including what can be said about candidates, campaigning and opinion polls – remain in place until the end of voting at 1700 local time (1200 GMT). Results have to be released within two weeks.

As many as 128 million people are registered to cast their votes, with almost half under the age of 35.

They will choose between more than 5,000 candidates – of whom just 313 are women.

The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) were considered the two major parties going into the vote.

However, picking out candidates from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has been made more difficult, after it was banned from using the cricket bat symbol under which all its candidates run. Electoral symbols play a key role in a country where more than 40% are unable to read.