Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif appear ahead in Pakistan election count

Islamabad: The parties of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan appeared to be well ahead of their rivals in Pakistan's election, according to a partial count of votes cast on Saturday.

The election, in which 86 million people were eligible to vote, will bring the first transition between civilian governments in a country ruled by the military for more than half of its turbulent history.

(Reuters) - Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif, seeking to become prime minister for a third time, appeared way ahead of his rivals in Saturday's general election, according to a partial count of votes cast.
The election, in which 86 million people were eligible to vote, will bring the first transition between civilian governments in a country that has been ruled by the military for more than half of its turbulent history.Despite pre-election violence and attacks on Saturday which killed at least 17 people, millions turned out to cast their ballot.The partial count showed that, so far, Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) was almost certain to win 40 of the 272 National Assembly seats that were contested."Let the election results come and you will see that we will have enough votes to form the government with a simple majority. It's already quite clear," said Rana Sanaullah, a PML-N leader.

Pakistan General Elections 2013: Imran, Sharif win from their constituencies

A religious conservative sometimes criticized as soft on militancy, Sharif is also a realist. His advisers say he is likely to seek friendly ties with Washington, which for decades has been Pakistan’s principal financial patron. He has talked of extracting Pakistan from the U.S. war against extremists, including those being sheltered on Pakistani soil, but provided no plan for doing so.

LAHORE, Pakistan  -- Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif looked set Sunday to return to power for a third term, with an overwhelming election tally that just weeks ago seemed out of reach for a man who had been ousted by a coup and was exiled abroad before clawing his way back as an opposition leader.
As unofficial returns continued to roll in Sunday morning, state TV estimates did not show whether Sharif would attain the majority needed to govern outright or if he would need to form a coalition government.