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May 11th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
Pakistani voters line up outside a polling station on the outskirts of
Islamabad (AP)
Supporters of Mr Sharif’s main challenger, Imran Khan, said they were
confident a high turn-out had helped close the gap and might spark an upset.
But within a short time of polls closing Mr Sharif declared he would be the
biggest party.
“We should thank Allah that he has given PML-N another chance to serve you and
Pakistan,” he said in a speech to supporters in Lahore as early results were
announced. He added he hoped to form a majority government.
While much of the country had a carnival atmosphere as voters celebrated the
chance to remove an unpopular government, the day was blighted by a bomb
blast in Karachi which killed 11 people.
Voting in some areas of Karachi also had to be suspended amid allegations of
rigging.
A late surge by the retired cricket superstar and a wave of sympathy after he
broke his back falling from a forklift truck is credited with bringing the
campaign to life. Mr Khan’s message of change has resonated with many young
voters and today he called for as many people as possible to exercise their
right to vote.
Pakistani women wait to cast their ballots in Tando Jam, Sindh province
(EPA)
“Pakistan is witnessing an historic turn-out today,” he said in a statement
issued from his hospital bed, as he rallied his supporters for one last
push.
Whatever the final result, he is assured of completing his transformation from
cricketing playboy to major political player.
In contrast, Mr Sharif, who was forced from office 14 years ago in a military
coup, is seen by many as the face of experience. Victory would mark an
extraordinary comeback for a man who was arrested, imprisoned and eventually
exiled by General Pervez Musharraf.
On Saturday night, provisional results – based on partial counts – suggested
he was ahead in 112 seats to Mr Khan’s 36.
Mr Sharif, 63, admitted making mistakes during his two previous terms in
government, when he suffered repeated accusations of corruption.
“We are all human beings, we all make mistakes. The important thing is that we
learn lessons from those mistakes. We are not angels,” he said, as a tiger
brooch – the symbol of his party – glittered on his chest. “We are going to
pick up where we left off in 1999.”
(AFP)
Queues formed at many of the polling stations.
He promised to put rebuilding the shattered economy at the heart of everything
he did and would end crippling power cuts within a five-year term.
While he cast his vote earlier in the day, his rival was flat on his back in
hospital. Mr Khan, 60, fractured six vertebrae on Tuesday, when he tumbled
15ft from a platform being raised by a forklift truck towards a stage where
he was due to make speech in Lahore.
Doctors believe he will make a full recovery but for now he cannot leave his
bed – even to cast his vote. On Saturday, medical staff also banned him from
meeting his party lieutenants and ordered him to rest.
For voters, the key issue has been who is best placed to fix the country’s
domestic problems. For five years the government of President Asif Ali
Zardari – Benazir Bhutto’s widower – has been accused of failing to tackle
security, economic and power crises.
Unemployment is rising fast, the cost of cooking fuel is spiralling and some
areas are without electricity for 12 hours a day.
Pakistan’s elections are largely decided in the populous province of Punjab.
Its capital Lahore ground to a halt for the day. Streets emptied of traffic
and the city had a carnival atmosphere as families voted together.
Queues formed at many of the polling stations.
A poster of Imran Khan (EPA)
Shakeel Akram, 40, said he had flown in from Nigeria, where he works, just to
vote for the first time.
He said a shattered economy had energised many people to vote for the first
time.
“The country is in a pathetic state,” he said, as he queued to cast his vote
for Mr Khan.
“We don’t want just the same old faces back in power.”
Others had more personal reasons.
Robial Butt, 42, a construction worker, said he had been a PML-N voter until
Mr Khan’s hospital spent 3.6m rupees (£24,000) treating his mother for
cancer.
“I had no money but the hospital saved her life,” he said.
The question all along has been whether Mr Khan’s popularity could translate
into seats under Pakistan’s first-past-the-post system and whether his
inexperienced team could challenge the PML-N’s election machine, which
exploits patronage networks to deliver votes in rural areas.
Mr Sharif’s message, that his experience and background as an industrialist is
the way to fix Pakistan’s plight, has also played well with voters.
Cars decorated with cricket bats – for Imran – and with cuddly tigers on the
roof – for Nawaz – paraded through the streets all day, flags waving and
horns tooting.
While Lahore partied, there were allegations of rigging and isolated episodes
of violence elsewhere.
Many of the problems centred on Karachi and its violent gangland politics.
Voters claimed polling stations had not been equipped with official stamps
or had opened late to prevent them registering their votes.
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