Several people were seen queued outside polling stations across Pakistan to cast their vote in the country’s 12th general elections since 1970. But many journalists and politicians reported low turnout in the first half of the day, owing to the suspension of mobile phone services.

Many circles in PTI claimed a high turnout in many constituencies. The former ruling party, which is technically out of the race for forming the next government, urged people to turn out in big numbers of vote.

It merits here to mention that there are different reports related to turnout in various areas of Pakistan.

A large number of voters, including men and women, were seen in NA-53 of Rawalpindi, according to Aaj News correspondent Yasir Nazar.

Voters were seen being brought to polling stations in vehicles in NA-56.

Meanwhile, Islamabad correspondent Imrana Komal reported that a large number of voters were seen in the second half of the day in the minorities dominated area of NA-47 constituency.

A similar kind of situation was seen in NA-120 Lahore where people turned up to exercise their voters in the afternoon.

On the other hand, Aaj News reporter Qaisar Abbas in Karachi said that the voting process was slow in NA-235 constituency due to low turnout.

Sami Memon stated that many citizens in NA-229 complained that they were disappointed and left without casting their votes. Moreover, some voters claimed that the staff did not cooperate with them in NA-250.

There were also some constituencies in Karachi where polling could not be started on time while at others the staff was absent.

Despite the passage of seven hours, the polling process could not start at 20 to 25 polling stations in NA-62 constituency of Gujarat.

Low turnout in first half of election day

The voter turnout was low in Pakistan general elections on Thursday as half of the polling time elapsed, several journalists claimed.

“According to reports from different parts of the country, voters are present in large numbers at the polling stations but the polling process has been deliberately kept slow,” senior journalist Hamid Mir said in a post on X.

Moments before tens of millions of people headed to polling stations to cast their votes, the caretaker government suspended the mobile phone services given the incidents of terrorism in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Citizens also experienced internet outages in multiple regions, according to an independent internet monitor.

Real-time network data showed that internet blackouts were in effect in multiple regions of Pakistan in addition to mobile network disruptions, the NetBlocks said in a post on X.

Several journalists and politicians called for immediate restoration of the two services. Voters at the polling stations also complained of facing communication problems after the government’s decision.

Mir, who is associated with Geo News, claimed that less than 100 votes were cast in the first four hours of the polling time in polling stations where hundreds of voters were waiting for their turn.

Such a slowdown has nothing to do with the internet suspension, he added.

According to Dawn editor (Kyber Pakhtunkhwa) Ismail Khan, the voter turnout across the province averaged nine per cent by 11:30am.

“It may pick up post lunch time,” he said.

Another journalist Syed Talat Hussain shared a graph on X, showing the overall turnout since the elections in 1970.

“So far nation-wide the turnout is lower than what has been the trend in the first 4 hours,” he said and added that urban centres were reporting 10 per cent lower than the usual average.

He was hopeful that the process would pick up momentum in the second half. But he warned that if it did not turn out then the situation might mirror that of 1997.

Aaj News reported that the polling staff and material were late in many constituencies, leading to delay in the process. Reporters in Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Jacobabad blamed the internet for the low turnout, but they hoped voters would arrive in the second half.

The election day, February 8, is a public holiday in Pakistan. But many people fear rigging and disturbance in the law and order situation after terrorist attacks in the two provinces and verdicts of cases against former prime minister Imran Khan.

Shamil Ahmed of Aaj News stated that the polling process was slow due to the low number of voters.

Political analyst Mosharraf Zaidi was of the view that suspension of mobile services would likely suppress voter turnout and undermine the process of casting votes.

“This will have the opposite effect of the intended benefits of an election during polycrisis,” he said, “it is 1300 hrs in Pakistan. It is not too late. Restore mobile services now.”

Reports said that no women have so far cast votes in the PK-48 constituency in Haripur despite staff present in the station. The process was also slow in Khyber’s Bara.

In one of its videos on X, the PTI claimed that a large number of voters turned out in NA-53. But it was not the case everywhere, according to the party.

PTI leader Hammad Azhar claimed that half of polling time elapsed yet the polling did not even start at the polling station NA-129 in Lahore. “The presiding officer says he cannot contact anyone at the RO office or ECP because mobile services are down.”