The restive province of Balochistan has once again refrained from backing a national party. While the PTI has succeeded in gaining two leads so far, the PML-N and PPP are likely to fail in opening their electoral accounts. Out of the 16 NA general seats, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) is leading on 5, followed by the Baloch-centric National Party (NP) ahead on 4, the Baloch Nationalist Party (BNP) on 2 and the Jamaat-e-Ulema-Islam also leading in 2 constituencies.
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Balochistan Provincial & National Assembly Election 2018 Results: MMA Leading on 5 Seats, NP 4, BNP 2, JUI(F) 2, PTI 2
Stay tuned here for the live updates of early trends and results of elections in Balochistan.
25 Jul, 21:56 (IST)
In first major leader for Imran Khan in Balochistan, the PTI candidate is leading in NA 265 (Quetta-II).
25 Jul, 21:38 (IST)
The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), the regional party of Balochistan is leading on 5 national assembly seats, whereas, the Jamata-e-Ulema-Islam led by Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman is ahead on 2 constituencies.
Quetta, July 25: Elections for the 65 provincial assembly seats and 16 national assembly seats were held in Balochistan on Wednesday. The counting of votes is slated to begin following the conclusion of polls at 6pm. Stay tuned here for the live updates of election results and early trends.
The Balochistan provincial assembly is currently being ruled by the National party (NP) in coalition with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The latter had won 12 seats in the 2013 elections, whereas, the NP had won 10. The post-poll coalition was also supported by other regional parties. Abdul Malik Baloch of NP was elected as the Chief Minister.
Amid the voting being held earlier in the day, a blast was carried out by suspected Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Quetta. While no deaths were reported yet, at least 40 were left injured.
In the run-up to the polls, the Tehreek-e-Taliban had carried out a blast during an election rally of the Awami National Party (ANP) in Quetta, which ended up claiming 128 lives and leaving over 150 injured.
Imran Khan, the patron of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and one of the leading prime ministerial candidates in the fray, campaigned in Balochistan on the plank of making it safer akin to the neighbouring Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Khan said KP was equally affected by extremism until 2013, when his party first came to power in the state and succeeded in countering the threat posed by the insurgents.
Along with Balochistan, elections were held today for the provincial assemblies of Sindh, KP and Punjab, along with the polls for the 272 general seats of the national assembly.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 25, 2018 06:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).