Suicide blast kills at least 31 amid Pakistan election

At least 31 people are dead after a suicide bomber struck outside a crowded polling station in Quetta, Pakistan, during general election voting Wednesday for the third consecutive civilian government.

Thirty-five people were wounded, several reportedly in critical condition, in the attack in the provincial capital of Baluchistan, raising concerns the death toll could rise, according to hospital official Jaffar Kakar, a doctor.

A witness waiting to cast his ballot, Abdul Haleem, said he saw a motorcycle drive into the crowd of voters just seconds before the explosion. Haleem's uncle was killed in the blast.

"There was a deafening bang followed by thick cloud of smoke and dust and so much crying from the wounded people," he told The Associated Press.

Pakistan general elections marred by polling station bombing

6 years ago

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Dozens dead or injured, ISIS takes responsibility

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Wednesday's bombing.

Baluchistan also saw the worst violence during election campaigning earlier this month, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a political rally, killing 149 people, including the candidate Siraj Raisani. Another 400 were wounded. Voting in that constituency has been suspended.

ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack, though Baluchistan has seen relentless attacks, both by the province's secessionists and Sunni militants who have killed hundreds of Shia living there. In recent years, the ISIS affiliate in the region has emerged as a major force behind violence, often using local Sunni radicals from the outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi to carry out its attacks.

Internet, cellphone service suspended

Citing security concerns, Pakistan's election commission announced that internet and cellphone services in several Baluchistan districts have been suspended. Election commission secretary Babar Yaqub told reporters that threats against polling stations, staff and even candidates have been received.

Militants on Tuesday lobbed grenades and opened fire at a military convoy escorting election staffers and voting material in Baluchistan's district of Turbat, killing four troops.

At the request of the election commission, Pakistan's military deployed 350,000 troops countrywide at polling stations.

Also on Wednesday, police said a shooting between supporters of two opposing political parties killed one person and wounded two in a village near the northwestern city of Swabi. Later, more clashes between rival political parties killed another person and wounded 15 across the country.

Wednesday's voting followed a rancorous campaign marked by widespread allegations of manipulation. Analysts and rights groups have warned of post-election instability and predicted losing parties would cry foul.

Local television reported scattered incidents of police arresting people with pre-marked ballots.

Rights groups have warned that a rancorous election campaign and widespread allegations of manipulation imperil the wobbly transition to democratic rule and raise the spectre of bitter challenges of fraud after the election.

The unprecedented participation in the election of radical religious groups, including those banned for terrorist links but resurrected and renamed, has also raised concerns especially for minorities and women ahead of the voting.

Close race

The leading contenders are Imran Khan, a former cricket star, and Shahbaz Sharif, the younger brother of disgraced prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been jailed on corruption charges.

Early unofficial results give Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party a commanding lead overSharif's Pakistan Muslim League, and Khan's party headquarters in Islamabad was crowded with dancing followers who sensed a victory.

As early results gave Khan an edge, Maryam Aurangzeb of Sharif's League raised the first allegations of ballot fraud and warned that his supporters might revolt if the charges prove correct.

"We will not allow anyone to steal the mandate the nation has given to us," she told a news conference. "So far, we are controlling our supporters, but we won't be able to convince them to exercise restraint if the results were manipulated against our party."

Election officials say more than 11,000 candidates are vying for 270 seats in Pakistan's law-making lower house of parliament and 577 seats in four provincial assemblies.

Women's right to vote

The 85,307 polling stations opened at 8 a.m. and continued for 10 hours, an hour longer than in the 2013 polls. Voting for two parliamentary seats and six seats in provincial assemblies has been postponed due to attacks on candidates or disqualifications. First results are expected early Thursday.

There are more than 105 million eligible voters in Pakistan, 59 million men and 46 million women.

Pakistan's election commission reminded candidates their election will be nullified if the female voter turnout does not reach 10 per cent. The requirement was imposed after the 2013 election, when several areas banned voting by women, mostly in Pakistan's religiously conservative northwest. Some candidates were elected without a single woman marking a ballot.

The commission issued its reminder Tuesday after veteran rights activist Tahira Abdullah said local jirgas, or councils, of elders from 60 areas of the country, representing 16 different constituencies, had signed agreements banning women from voting despite the new ruling. While some areas have refused to relent, others were allowing women to cast ballots.