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Journalism of Courage
PML-N to form govt with support of Independents and small parties Senior party leaders in race for top posts in Sharifs cabinet
Nawaz Sharifs PML-N has emerged as the single largest party in Pakistans landmark general elections with 123 of the 272 Parliamentary seats but fell short of a simple majority and would form a government with support of independents and smaller parties.
The PML-Ns two closest rivals the Pakistan Peoples Party and Imran Khans Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf lagged far behind with 32 and 27 seats respectively.
Earlier,trends from the counting of votes had shown that the PML-N led by former premier Nawaz Sharif was set to bag about 125 seats.
A total of 137 directly-elected seats are needed for a simple majority and the PML-N is expected to form the government at the centre with the backing of independent candidates and one or two smaller parties.
The PML-N won a majority of its seats from Punjab,four from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,and one each from Sindh and the federal capital.
The PPP,which led the last government,was virtually wiped out in Punjab,winning only two seats in the province.
Several top PPP leaders,including former ministers like Qamar Zaman Kaira and Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar,were defeated in Punjab.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement,which was a key partner in the last PPP-led government,bagged 18 seats while Maulana Fazlur Rehmans Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam won 10 seats in the National Assembly or lower house of parliament.
The PML-F won four seats and the Jamaat-e-Islami three seats,while the PML-Q,formed by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf,Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and National Peoples Party bagged two seats each.
The Awami National Party,Musharrafs All Pakistan Muslim League,Awami Muslim League,Balochistan National Party,National Party and PML-Z won a seat each.
Independent candidates bagged 26 seats.
The Election Commission announced the results for only 256 parliamentary seats,saying results were awaited from other constituencies in Balochistan,Punjab and Sindh provinces and the tribal areas.
The poll panel further said there would be repolling in some polling stations of one constituency while polls had not been held in three for various reasons.
49 poll stations recorded over 100 voting: observer group
BELIEVE it or not! At least 49 polling stations across Pakistan reported an unbelievable voter turnout of more than 100 per cent in the just-concluded general elections.
Amid allegations of vote rigging,the voter turnout was reported over 100 per cent in at least 49 out of 8,119 polling stations sampled across Pakistan,by observer group Free and Fair Election Network FAFEN.
After noticing the irregularities,FAFEN has called on the Election Commission of Pakistan to put up all polling station data on its website before certifying any final election results in any constituency.
Thirty two stations with over 100 per cent turnout were in Punjab,10 in Sindh,six in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one in Balochistan,FAFEN said.
According to a report in Dawn,the statistics in at least five polling stations in Karachi ,showed rigging trends since the number of votes polled far exceeded the registered voters,according to the data from FAFEN.
In race for cabinet
Finance Minister: Ishaq Dar appointed
Foreign Minister: Ahsan Iqbal and Khwaja Asif. Iqbal and Asif served as ministers in Gilanis cabinet in 2008
Commerce Minister: Senior PML-N leader Khurram Dastagir Khan
Interior Minister: Abdul Qadir Baloch,a party leader from Balochistan
Iamp; B Minister: Pervaiz Rashid,
Mushhidullah Khan,Khwaja Rafique
National Assembly Speaker: PMAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai
Poll snippets
Sharif visits Imran,wants to play friendly match
Lahore: Nawaz Sharif Tuesday reached out to his rival Imran Khan and suggested that the two of them should play a friendly match. Sharif visited the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief at Shaukat Khanum Hospital. Sharif inquired about Khans health and spent some time with him. Talking to reporters after the meeting,Sharif said: We have reconciled and I have asked Khan sahab to get well and play a friendly match with me. He said he had a brief but very good discussion with a receptive Khan. He added,I will develop a good working relationship with Imran Khan. Imran was receptive to my gestures and we had a meeting in a cordial atmosphere.
Shahbaz Sharif to be Punjab CM again
LAHORE: The PML-N will retain Shahbaz Sharif as the Chief Minister of Punjab for a record fourth term,after briefly toying with the idea of giving him a slot in the federal government. Shahbaz,61,the younger brother of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif,is widely credited for successfully implementing several development programmes during his last tenure.
Amnesty calls on Sharif to probe rights abuses
London: Human rights organisation Amnesty International has called on Nawaz Sharif to investigate all human rights abuses as soon as his government is formed. We want to congratulate Nawaz Sharif but remain very concerned about the violence in the run-up to the elections and reports that women were prevented from voting in some districts. All these incidents must be thoroughly investigated.
Musharraf remand in Bhutto case extended
Islamabad: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharrafs judicial remand over the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007 was extended by a fortnight Tuesday by an anti-terrorism court. The court of Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman in Rawalpindi extended Musharrafs judicial remand till May 28 and also put off hearing his bail application till May 20.
