Pakistan poll results delayed due to transparent process: ECP

Islamabad: There has been a delay in the announcement of results of the general elections in Pakistan due to the "transparent process" and "legal procedures" adopted by the election commission, a top official said on Sunday.

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Ishtiak Ahmad Khan, however, said that there should be no doubt about the poll results, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. Addressing a news conference here‚ Khan said the delay in the announcement of the results was due to the transparent process and legal procedures adopted by the ECP. He assured that this time the process was so designed that no tampering of results was possible. Of the 152 seats, results for which have been officially declared so far, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) bagged 86 seats, 21 went to Imran Khan`s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and 15 to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of President Asif Ali Zardari. Among others, 9 went to independent candidates, 8 to Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), 4 to Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), 2 to Jamat-e-Islami, 2 to Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and 5 to others, reported Xinhua. The National Assembly has a total of 342 seats, and the four provincial assemblies together have 728 seats. Elections were held to 268 of the National Assembly seats. IANS