Amid the upheaval in Pakistan over delayed election results, with some reports putting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidates in the lead or winning, many moved courts alleging that their defeat was a result of ‘rigging,’ ARY news reported on Saturday.

According to the report, several more candidates could be moving high courts over the next few days alleging that the votes were rigged.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-affiliated Independent candidates, too, moved to the Lahore High Court (LHC), challenging the results of the PP-164 and NA-118, where father-son duo Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz secured victory.

In his petition, Independent candidate Yousuf Mio, who contested against the PML-N president, claimed that the returning officer (RO) did not allow the petitioner to enter the office.

“The results were announced in the petitioner’s absence,” stated the application, urging the court to direct the returning officer to announce the results as per Form 45.

“The court also bars the Election Commission from issuing the final result,” the petitioner said, requesting the court to declare Form-47 results’ null and void.

Meanwhile, Alia Hamza’s husband, whose wife contested against Hamza Shehbaz, challenged the result and noted that the PML-N candidate lost the election as per Form-45, ARY News reported.

On the other hand, Dr Yasmeen Rashid also challenged former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s victory in Lahore’s NA-130 constituency in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Another Independent candidate, Shehzad Farooq, challenged Maryam Nawaz’s win from Lahore’s NA:119 while another PML-N candidate Ata Tarar’s win from NA:127 was also been challenged in court by PTI-supported Independent candidate Zaheer Abbas Khokhar.

Rehana Dar, mother of Usman Dar, petitioned the high court for recounting of votes in Sialkot’s NA-71, challenging the win for PML-N veteran Khawaja Asif in the Sialkot constituency.

In Islamabad, PTI-backed candidates Shoaib Shaheen and Ali Bukhari also challenged the results of constituencies NA-47 and NA-48 respectively, in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Talking to journalists, Shoaib Shaheen said, “We have requested the registrar’s office to schedule an immediate hearing. We urge the chief justice to expedite the case since all of Islamabad knows that NA-47 is my constituency. I have the Form-45. We have won this election with a significant majority,” ARY News reported.

The PTI-backed Independent candidate blamed the powers that be for “pressuring the returning officers”, he said, adding, “Today, you are replaying the crime you committed in the past. Now the only hope left is the judiciary.”

According to the results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), PML-N leader Tariq Fazal Chaudhry was declared victorious after scoring 102,502 votes while PTI-backed independent candidate Shoaib Shaheen got 86,396 votes and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, an independent candidate, secured 17,916 votes.

Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, a joint candidate of the PML-N and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP), won NA-48 (Islamabad-III) with 69,699 votes while Syed Mohammad Ali Bukhari stood second with 59,851 votes and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar third with 18,572 votes.

The PML-N made a clean sweep after 16 years by grabbing all three seats of the National Assembly in the federal capital.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hungarian President Katalin Novak, a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, announced her resignation Saturday following outrage over a pardon granted to a man implicated in a child sexual abuse case.

Soon afterwards another Orban supporter, former justice minister Judit Varga, announced she was withdrawing from public life over the affair.

The announcements followed growing pressure from opposition politicians and protests outside the presidential palace Friday evening.

“I am resigning my post,” said 46-year-old Novak, acknowledging that she had made a mistake.

“I apologise to those who I hurt and all the victims who may have had the impression that I did not support them,” the former minister for family policy added.

“I am, I was and I will remain in favour of protecting children and families.”

Novak became the first woman to hold the essentially ceremonial role of president in March 2022.

The controversy was sparked by the pardon granted to a former deputy director of a children’s home. He had helped to cover up his boss’s sexual abuse of the children in their charge.

The decision was made last April during a visit by Pope Francis to Budapest.

Since the independent news site 444 revealed the decision last week, the country’s opposition had been calling for Novak’s resignation.

On Friday evening demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace and three presidential advisers quit their posts.

Orban must ‘take responsibility’ –

Novak, who had been in Qatar to attend Hungary’s match against Kazakhstan at the World Water Polo Championships on Friday, swiftly returned to Budapest.

As soon as her plane had landed she emerged and announced her resignation.

“The pardon granted and the lack of explanation may have given rise to doubts about zero tolerance of paedophilia,” she said.

“But there can be no doubt on this subject”, she added, before offering her apologies.

Minutes after her announcement, another ally of Orban, Judit Varga, also announced her “withdrawal from public life”.

As justice minister, a post she quit in order to lead a European Parliament election bid, she had approved the pardon.

“I renounce my mandate as an MP and the head of the list for the European Parliament,” she said on Facebook.

“It was quick: first Novak, then Varga,” said Hungarian MEP Anna Donath, reacting to the news.

“But we know that no important decision can be taken in Hungary without Viktor Orban’s approval,” added Donath, a member of the small liberal Momentum party, on Facebook.

“He has to take responsibility and explain what happened… it’s his system”.

In an attempt to calm national anger, Orban had announced on Thursday that he wanted to revise Hungary’s constitution to exclude the possibility of pardoning paedophile criminals.

Novak, who has been temporarily replaced by the Speaker of Parliament Laszlo Kover, was named last year by Forbes magazine as the most influential woman in Hungarian public life.

Her departure leaves Hungary’s political landscape even more male-dominated. Since mid-2023 there have been no women in Viktor Orban’s 16-man cabinet.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Imran Khan, who is in jail and barred from contesting elections, managed to grab the headlines as independent candidates who support his party Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI) won 102 seats.
But the party still fell 31 seats short of the majority mark needed to form the government. The result of 8 seats is yet to be announced.
Pakistan election commission has attributed the delay to internet issues, due to which polling stations are facing difficulties transmitting the results.
Nawaz Sharif‘s Pakistan Muslim League (N), which was backed by the Army and the favourite to win the polls, could manage just 73 seats in the 266-seat assembly. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won 54.
Both Khan and three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, declared victory yesterday increasing uncertainty over who will form the next government at a time when swift policy action is needed to address multiple challenges.
The independents’ strong performance points to former prime minister Imran Khan‘s enduring popularity among the nation’s 241 million people, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet amid the fastest inflation in Asia.
Several independents, backed by PTI, have alleged fraud in the election results and moved the high court. According to local media reports, several more candidates could approach the court over the next few days alleging that the votes were rigged.
PTI is also expected to launch nationwide protests today as the final results of the elections have still not been released.  
Gohar Khan, PTI chairman, called on “all institutions” in Pakistan to respect his party’s mandate. At a press conference, he said if complete results of the polls were not released by Saturday night, the party would hold peaceful protests today outside government offices returning election results around the country.
In a bid to keep Imran Khan’s party away from the country’s top office, Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto are holding talks to join hands. But even with the combined strength, they will fall short of the majority by 6 seats.