Pakistan's vote count following a general election has been hit by unusual delays, possibly due to a government decision to suspend mobile services, with no results on national parliament seats announced even 12 hours after polls closed.
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The South Asian country is struggling to recover from an economic crisis while it grapples with rising militant violence in a deeply polarised political environment.
An "internet issue" was the reason behind the delay, said Zafar Iqbal, special secretary at the Election Commission of Pakistan, after he announced the first official results in a provincial assembly.
The government said it suspended mobile phone services on Thursday as a security measure, and they were being partially resumed.
The main contests for the seats in the National Assembly are expected to be between candidates backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, whose Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the last national election, and the Pakistan Muslim League of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who analysts say is being backed by the powerful military.
With counting continuing into Friday morning, a clear picture was likely to emerge only later in the day.
Projected results on local television channels were also unusually slow coming in. In previous elections, by midnight local time on election day, there was a clearer picture about which party had a substantial lead.
But most projections on television channels were based only around 30 per cent of the returns in each of the 265 seats being contested in the federal parliament.
"The election commission has ordered all provincial election commissioners and returning officers to announce all results in half an hour or strict action will be taken," a statement from the Election Commission of Pakistan said late on Thursday.
Shortly thereafter, it announced six provincial assembly results.
Pakistan held elections to the federal parliament along with polls to its four provincial legislatures.
A party needs 133 seats in parliament for a simple majority but many analysts believe the vote may not produce a clear winner.
Sharif, considered by many observers to be a strong candidate, dismissed talk of an unclear result.
"Don't talk about a coalition government. It is very important for a government to get a clear majority... It should not be relying on others," he told reporters after casting his vote in the eastern city of Lahore.
Thousands of troops were deployed on the streets and at polling stations across the country on Thursday.
Borders with Iran and Afghanistan were temporarily closed as security was stepped up to ensure peaceful polling.
Despite the heightened security, nine people, including two children, were killed in bomb blasts, grenade attacks and shootings by militants.
"Despite a few isolated incidents, the overall situation remained under control, demonstrating the effectiveness of our security measures," caretaker Interior Minister Gohar Ejaz said in a statement.
Washington was concerned about "steps that were taken to restrict freedom of expression, specifically around internet and cell phone use", State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed concern about the violence and the suspension of mobile communications services, his spokesperson said.
Amnesty International called the suspension of mobile services "a blunt attack on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly".
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja said the decision on mobile networks was made by "law and order agencies" following violence on Wednesday in which 26 people were killed.
Australian Associated Press
