Pak defies Taliban, votes in big numbers

Pak defies Taliban, votes in big numbers Blasts Kill 24; Imran, Sharif Get Early Leads Omer Farooq Khan TNN  Islamabad: Millions of Pakistanis defied Taliban threats and came out to vote on Saturday in historic elections that marked the country’s first transition from one elected government to another. But violence left 24 people dead and marred the one-day vote that observers predict will result in a fractured mandate.     Officials said the turnout was “huge” as the counting commenced soon after the polling ended across 70,000 polling stations. Former PM Nawaz Sharif ’s Pakistan Muslim League (N) and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were reported to be leading after a partial counting of votes.      Pakistani media reported the PTI was ahead in over 50 of the 272 National Assembly seats. It said the count showed Sharif was in the lead, but his party may lose 15 of its seats in Punjab to Khan.     In Islamabad and adjoining Rawalpindi, Khan’s party was leading with big margin on all seats. It was far ahead of PML-N and other rivals in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and adjoining tribal areas.     Festive scenes were reported from across the country and particularly in the political heartland of Punjab that accounts for over half of National Assembly seats throughout the day. Sharif ’s slogan shouting supporters were carrying his party’s symbol, stuffed tigers, while Khan’s followers carried cricket bats.     The polling started earlier in the day amid unprecedented security. Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani Saturday cast his vote in Rawalpindi. Shari cast his ballot in Lahore.     Over half-a-million army and paramilitary soldiers were deployed across the country to ensure peaceful polling. Checkposts were put up and military helicopters patrolled the skies in Peshawar. Borders with Iran and Afghanistan were sealed three days earlier.     The Taliban had threatened to carry out suicide bombing to prevent people from voting. Over 100 people were killed in the run up to the elections. The polling was largely peaceful. But over a dozen people were killed in separate attacks in Karachi, Balochistan and Peshawar.      Overall, the voter turnout was much higher than the last elections in 2008. The higher turnout is expected to benefit Khan, who has caught the imagination of youth with his promise of building ‘Naya Pakistan’ and making the country independent of foreign aid. Sharif was widely expected to return to power 14 years after he was deposed and exiled.     Taliban threats and leadership crisis marred the Pakistan People’s Party’s campaign along with poor governance record. The party demitted office after leading the first democratically elected government to complete its term in March.  Re-voting in Karachi over rigging claims     Pakistan’s election commission on Saturday ordered a re-vote in more than 30 polling stations in a Karachi constituency over allegations of ballot stuffing, a spokesman said. Earlier on Saturday, Islamist party Jammat-e-Islami (JI) said it was boycotting the elections altogether in Karachi and the southern city of Hyderabad, accusing the MQM of rigging and violence. AFP  180 million ballot papers weighing 650 tonnes used for polls 50 army helicopters flew for 347 hours to transport ballot papers  Voting extended by 3 hours in 7 Karachi constituencies IN LINE FOR CHANGE  We had warned this would happen and today in many polling stations of Karachi and Hyderabad the polling was not free and transparent — Munawar Hasan, JI LEADER It’s better to try a lesser evil instead of trying a novice — A VOTER  The turnout has been amazing it is beyond our expectations — Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER  If we want education, electricity and natural gas in our country, we must take a step —Malala Yousufzai Either we sit in our house and let the terrorism go on, or cast our vote, and bring in a government that can solve this problem — A VOTER  People have been up all night, actually I haven’t slept, a lot of my friends haven’t slept. People just wanted to come out and do this, because we never had this chance — A VOTER We brought change before. We will bring change again — Nawaz Sharif