Islamabad:

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s party took a slight lead in early election results on Friday after the government blamed a suspension of mobile phone services on unusual delays in vote counting that affected the tally.

As of 0600 GMT, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the results of 47 of the 265 contested seats in the National Assembly, with Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) winning 17 seats and jailed former prime minister Ibrahim Abdullah. Supporters of Khan won 14 seats.

The Pakistan People’s Party, led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is said to occupy 12 seats. The rest were won by smaller parties or non-aligned independents.

Khan is in jail and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is barred from participating in Thursday’s election, so his supporters are contesting as independents.

Analysts predict there may be no clear winner in the election, adding to the woes of a country struggling to recover from an economic crisis while grappling with rising violence in a deeply polarized political environment.

Few results were announced for more than 30 hours after polls closed, which is unusual for elections in Pakistan. The Karachi stock index and Pakistan’s sovereign bonds fell amid uncertainty.

ECP Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal said “internet issues” were the reason for the delay, without elaborating.

The government said mobile phone services, which were suspended ahead of Thursday’s election as a safety measure, were being partially restored.

The main battle is expected to be between candidates backed by Khan and Sharif’s Muslim League-Sharif. The People’s Party backed by Khan won the last national election. Khan believes the powerful military is behind the crackdown to bring down his party, while analysts and opponents say Sharif has the support of the generals.

The military has directly or indirectly controlled the nuclear-armed nation during its 76 years of independence, but it has insisted for years that it does not interfere in politics.

Sharif, seen by many observers as a strong candidate, dismissed suggestions that the outcome was unclear.

“Don’t talk about a coalition government. It is very important for a government to get an absolute majority… it should not be dependent on others,” he told reporters after voting in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday.

IMF bailout

If the election does not result in a clear majority as analysts predict, it will be tricky to navigate multiple challenges – not the least of which is seeking a new bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when current arrangements expire in three weeks.

“The decisive factor is which side the powerful military and its security apparatus are on,” said columnist Abbas Nasir, commenting on the possibility of no side emerging as a clear winner. “Only a massive vote for (Khan’s) PTI can change its fortunes.”

He added: “The economic challenges are so severe and the solutions so painful, I’m not sure how anyone in power is going to steady the ship.”

Thousands of soldiers were deployed on streets and polling stations across the country on Thursday for the vote. Borders with Iran and Afghanistan are temporarily closed as security measures increase.

The military said in a statement that despite heightened security, militants killed 12 people, including two children, in 51 bomb blasts, grenade attacks and shootings, mostly in the western province.

“Despite some isolated incidents, the overall situation remains under control, which demonstrates the effectiveness of our security measures,” caretaker Home Minister Gohar Ejaz said in a statement.

State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters that Washington was concerned about “measures that restrict freedom of expression, particularly regarding the use of the Internet and mobile phones.”

Patel added that the United States strongly condemns election-related violence in the run-up to the polls and on Election Day.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed concern about the violence and the suspension of mobile communications services, his spokesman said in an emailed statement.

Amnesty International called the suspension of mobile services “a blunt attack on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)