Pakistan election 2018 results date: When will the results of Pakistan elections be declared?

The crucial Pakistan elections 2018 are underway for 272 seats of the National Assembly. People are voting in a tense environment as at least 34 people were killed in a suicide blast and poll-related violence. The election marks the second democratic transition of power in the nation's 70-year history.

Pakistani voters pose with their national identity cards waiting in a queue to cast their votes in Rawalpindi. AP Photo

NEW DELHI: The crucial Pakistan elections 2018 are underway for 272 seats of the National Assembly. People are voting in a tense environment as at least 34 people were killed in a suicide blast and poll-related violence. The election marks the second democratic transition of power in the nation's 70-year history. Voting is also being held for 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies - Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), 3,459 candidates are contesting for 272 general seats of the National Assembly, while 8,396 candidates are running for 577 general seats. While polling stations officially opened for voting at 8 AM, enthusiastic citizens queued up outside their respective stations as early as 7 AM. More than 30 political parties have fielded their candidates for the elections. The Opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, is looking to unseat the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which was formally led by the now-jailed ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is also in the race. Shahbaz Sharif, the president of the PML-N is also hoping to become the next prime minister of Pakistan. Pakistan elections 2018 results date: The voting started at 8 AM local time on more than 85,000 polling stations. The counting of votes will be done on the spot soon after the conclusion of the polling process at 6 PM and the results will be announced within 24 hours. Trends will start coming as soon as the voting will end. Questions raised over participation of extremists groups Controversy has also arisen over allowing militant groups to participate in the elections. Some of the infamous Pakistani extremist leaders, accused of spreading religious hatred and instigating sectarian violence, are among hundreds of candidates contesting the elections. The leading among them are Mumbai-terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led banned Jamat-ud Dawa's candidates who are fighting with an aim to make Pakistan a "citadel of Islam." In the run up to the elections, the country also witnessed a series of deadly attacks targeting candidates and campaign rallies, including one that killed 151 people in Balochistan province. A fierce battle is expected between the PML-N and Khan's PTI in Punjab, the most populous province often known for deciding the next government in the country. Khan has pledged to break the decades-old two party "status quo" of the PML-N and its historical rival the PPP. Former prime minister Sharif, the supremo of the PML-N who was jailed this month after being convicted in a corruption case, also accused the military of pressuring the judiciary to convict him. Both institutions deny the charge. (With PTI inputs)