(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) – Voting has begun in Pakistan after an election campaign overshadowed by concerns of manipulation and violence.
Nearly 106 million people are registered to vote for members of the lower house of parliament and four provincial assemblies.
The PTI party of former star cricketer Imran Khan is hoping to beat ex-leader Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N.
But the Human Rights Commission says there have been “blatant” attempts to manipulate the polls.
Hundreds of thousands of troops will be deployed to secure the ballot, which opened at 8.00 AM. Votes will be cast for 272 National Assembly seats that are directly contestable.
