Islamabad, Feb 10: Independent candidates affiliated to jailed Pakistani political leader Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won most of the National Assembly seats in Pakistan’s general elections, delivering a surprise victory in a vote marred by slow count and rigging allegations, a media report said.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, Independent candidates have won 98 seats so far, with 22 seats still unclaimed. The majority of the Independents are affiliated to Khan’s PTI, CNN reported.

The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN), which had been favoured to sweep the polls, has so far won the second-most seats at 69. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is placed third with 51 seats.

The 22 remaining seats would not be enough to give PMLN, headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, or PPP the lead, even if they were to win all of them.

Still, none of the three major parties of the country will win the necessary 169 seats to have a majority in the Parliament, and hence, will be unable to form the government on their own, leaving it unclear who will be picked to be the country’s next Prime Minister.

In a speech released on Friday, an AI-generated version of Khan claimed victory in the elections and called on his supporters to “now show the strength of protecting your vote”, CNN reported.

Khan, who has been behind bars since August, has been using AI to get messages out to his supporters.

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“You kept my trust, and your massive turnout has stunned everyone,” the AI voice said in the video.

IANS

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