Pakistan awaits election results in aftermath of bombing

Pakistan is awaiting national election results Wednesday after voting was disrupted by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle and scattered violence elsewhere in the country. The bomber rammed into people waiting outside a polling station in the city of Quetta, killing 31 people. Police said clashes between rival political parties have killed another person and wounded 15 others across the country.

Pakistan will make history by electing a third straight civilian government, although the transition to democratic rule has been wobbly. Rights activists, analysts, and candidates say the campaign has been characterized by “blatant, aggressive and unabashed attempts to manipulate” the outcome, with media silenced and candidates intimidated, according to Pakistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission. The military establishment and its intelligence agency are accused of trying to prevent the Pakistan Muslim League, the party of disgraced Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, from returning to power, while giving a shot at governing to former cricket star Imran Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.