1. Reuters:
Pakistan's national election ended with no party winning a majority in parliament, in polls marred by militant violence, political turmoil and questions of “transparency.”
Former prime ministers and bitter rivals Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan both declared victory, adding to the uncertainty as the country faces numerous challenges that need to be addressed quickly, including negotiating a new International Monetary Fund program to keep a struggling $350 billion economy afloat.
Next, a prime ministerial candidate has to show a simple majority of 169 seats in the National Assembly when the house is called in coming days.
The Assembly consists of 336 seats of which 266 are decided through direct voting on polling day. There are also 70 reserved seats - 60 for women and 10 for non-Muslims - allotted according to the strength of each party in the house to determine the final position of parties in the Assembly. (Source: reuters.com)
2. Nikkei Asia:
The parties of Pakistan's dueling former Prime Ministers Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif have both claimed they can form governments after the country's general elections, while protests spread over allegations that the results were tampered with.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) finished releasing provisional results on Sunday afternoon for 264 of 266 contestable seats, with one result withheld and one vote postponed. The numbers, out long after they were expected early Friday, showed independents -- mostly backed by the jailed Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) -- leading with 101 seats. They were followed by Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) at 75 and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at 54.
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