Islamabad, Lahore —
Pakistan held its long-delayed elections Thursday, but sporadic violence and the nationwide suspension of mobile phone and internet services overshadowed the polls, raising credibility concerns about an already controversial vote.
Polling stations across the South Asian nation closed at 5 p.m. local time after nine hours of balloting, and the process largely remained peaceful.
An early morning Interior Ministry announcement just before the polls opened for some 128 million eligible voters said the disruption in phone service was meant to “mitigate potential security threats” and “maintain law and order.”
The ministry did not discuss the internet outage, which came a day after separate bomb blasts outside campaign offices in southwestern Baluchistan province on Wednesday killed 30 people. The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the bombings. Militant attacks in parts of the country on election day also killed several people, mostly policemen.
Analysts say whoever wins the election will serve a public that is deeply disappointed in the political system, has little faith in the electoral process and is extremely worried about the nation’s economic survival.
Three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Muslim League (Nawaz) Party is viewed as the favorite of the powerful military, while the last elected prime minister, Imran Khan, is in jail. A military-backed crackdown on his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party, or PTI, has left many disappointed in this democratic exercise.
“I came out thinking that maybe my vote will improve something for this country and for us,” said Faiza Tariq, a first-time female voter in the eastern city of Lahore.
Fazal-Ur-Rehman was among those who did not vote, citing a lack of trust in the process.
“It doesn’t matter if I vote or not. Those who are supposed to come in power will come in power,” he said.
Nazward Atta, a Pakistani living abroad, said she returned only to vote to fight the alleged unfairness.
“We just want to change the fate of Pakistan and the future of Pakistan,” she said.
Other voters, like Anam Khan, criticized the disruption of communication services.
“Why? Is there a war going on here? Do they want to keep people from posting videos on social media? People can do that later, God willing,” she said.
The Pakistani government deployed more than 650,000 army, paramilitary and police personnel to provide security for tens of thousands of polling stations across the world’s fifth most populous country, with an estimated population of 241 million.
Several hours after the polling ended, the interior ministry said mobile services were being partially restored nationwide and would soon be fully reinstated.
The suspension of phone and internet services sparked widespread allegations of an attempt by Pakistan’s military-backed interim government to rig the polls, mainly to prevent candidates loyal to Khan’s party from gaining an upper hand.
Khan, the 71-year-old popular politician, has been convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms for highly disputed corruption and other charges in the lead-up to the vote.
The cricket hero-turned-political leader's PTI has been subjected to a months-long nationwide clampdown, in which hundreds of workers and candidates were arrested without charges and released only after quitting the party or withdrawing from the election.
"Pakistanis, the illegitimate, fascist regime has blocked cell phone services across Pakistan on polling day,” PTI said on X shortly after the services went down.
“Despite being in jail, Khan remains a central figure in the election,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center. “He retains a large base that will want to vote for the independent candidates sponsored by his party.
“But it appears the state is creating an enabling environment for rigging with its suspension of mobile services. This threatens to deny many Pakistanis the right to vote for who they choose, casting doubt on the government’s insistence that this election will be free and fair,” Kugelman told VOA.
The United States condemned incidents of violence in Pakistan both in the weeks preceding elections and those on election day.
“We're tracking reports of restrictions on internet and cellphone access across Pakistan on polling day,” Vedant Patel, the State Department principal deputy spokesperson, told reporters in Washington.