Polls close in Pakistan on an election day that saw at least 11 killed in an attack at ANP party offices in Karachi and complaints from the city voters of irregularities and intimidation.
Polls have closed across Pakistan in a closely watched electoral race pitting the former cricket star Imran Khan against a two-time prime minister once exiled by the army and an incumbent blamed for power blackouts and inflation.
The vote marked the first time in Pakistan’s 65-year history that a civilian government has completed its full term and handed over power in democratic elections. Previous governments have been toppled by military coups or sacked by presidents allied with the powerful army.
But excitement was marred by an attack on the office of the Awami National Party (ANP) in Karachi on Saturday morning which killed 11 people and injured around 40.
Also in Karachi, the country’s biggest city, several voters complained of irregularities and intimidation and the election commission said the process was flawed.
“We have been unable to carry out free and fair elections in Karachi,” it said in a statement. The impact on the national elections was not immediately clear.
The bomb follows deadly violence throughout the election campaign: more than 130 people have been killed in the run-up to the vote, mostly secular party candidates and workers. On Friday a pair of bombings against election offices in northwest Pakistan killed three people and a candidate was killed in a shooting, also in Karachi.
Most attacks have been traced to Taliban militants and the country’s borders were closed ahead of the polls opening to try and prevent attacks from foreign militants. The government also said it would deploy 600,000 security personnel on election day.
Of the 73,000 active polling stations, 20,000 were deemed a security risk.
The historic election will determine the fate of the nuclear-armed nation of 180 million people which is crucial to stability in the region.
As Pakistanis streamed to the polls across the country, there was a sense of excitement among an electorate well aware of the historical significance of their vote.
John Sparks speaks to those voting in today’s historic elections in Lahore – follow @c4sparks for the latest #C4news twitter.com/Channel4News/sâ?¦
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) May 11, 2013
Faiqa Haroon was one of the first voters to enter a polling station in Islamabad and was well aware of the significance of her ballot.
“Now it’s time we should get up, and we should cast our vote in order to strengthen democracy in our country and in order to lead our country to the path of development,” she said.
The vote is being watched closely by Washington, which relies on Pakistan for help in fighting Islamic militants and negotiating an end to the war in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The election of both the national and provincial assemblies comes at a time of widespread despair in Pakistan, as the country suffers from weak economic growth, rampant electricity and gas shortages, and a deadly Taliban insurgency.
There was concern that the violence could benefit Islamist parties and those who take a softer line toward the militants, including those of Imran Khan and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, because they were able to campaign more freely.
The rise of the former cricket star candidate, Khan, who has almost mythical status in Pakistan, has challenged the dominance of the country’s two main political parties, making the outcome of the election very hard to call.
A late surge of support for the party of Mr Khan has made a split mandate all the more likely. The former cricket star is in hospital after injuring himself in a fall at a party rally, which may also win him sympathy votes.
Who are the main contenders?
Nawaz Sharif
The head of the main opposition party in recent years, the Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz Sharif is considered the front runner. His party is considered the main rival to the Pakistan People’s Party to form the next government. Sharif was ousted as prime minister in a bloodless coup in 1999 by then-army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf and was sent into exile the following year.
Imran Khan
The Pakistani cricket legend-turned-politician could have a significant impact on the vote. He founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or the Movement for Justice Party, more than 15 years ago, but failed to gain much traction until 2011. That year he marked his rise as a major political player with a rally that drew more than 100,000 people in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province. Khan has appealed to a largely young, urban constituency tired with the current crop of politicians and the corruption that plagues the system.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
The only son of President Asif Ali Zardari and his late wife Benazir Bhutto, he was set to carry the torch for the Bhutto family political dynasty in Pakistan but has largely been absent in this election due to Taliban threats. His grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founded the PPP and served as the country’s president and prime minister. Zardari is too young to participate in the election – the minimum age is 25 – but he had been expected to play a key role in rallying voters.