Pakistan's ruling party leads Kashmir vote, winning 24 of 34 seats despite boycott call
Pakistan's election commission said Wednesday that candidates backed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party won 24 of 34 seats decided in the first two phases of voting in Kashmir, despite a boycott call by a banned group.
The ruling party in Pakistan is leading in the legislative vote in Kashmir, according to official results released on Wednesday. The election commission said that candidates backed by the Pakistan Muslim League-N party of twice-elected former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have won 24 of the 34 seats that have been decided in the first two phases of voting. This gives the party a clear majority among the seats resolved so far.
The vote took place despite a call by a banned group to boycott the election. The commission's announcement did not identify the banned group or explain the status of any remaining seats. The Pakistan Muslim League-N, which is the party led by Sharif, has demonstrated significant support in the Kashmir region through these initial results. Sharif served as prime minister on two previous occasions.
The election commission's statement, issued Wednesday, provided the official breakdown of the 24 seats won by the party's supported candidates out of the 34 decided seats. No further information was included in the announcement regarding the next phases or the total number of seats. The boycott call by the banned group did not appear to disrupt the voting, according to the results. At this stage, the ruling party's candidates are ahead in the count.
