Campaigning for tomorrow’s General elections in Pakistan came to an end last night.
The contestants and leaders including PML-N Chief Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari made last-ditch efforts to woo voters before the end of the deadline.
A nearly two-month-long campaign has generally been seen as low-key, but it has claimed nearly 180 lives, including three candidates, in the last two weeks.
The country’s Election Commission said, over 12,570 candidates, including a number of hard-line clerics, are contesting the elections to 849 seats of Parliament and four provincial assemblies.
As many as 4 lakh 50,000 policemen and over 3 lakh Army troops will be deployed on the polling day.
Opposition parties and various organisations have expressed concern over the powers granted to military units overseeing the polling stations, saying that the move could erode trust in the contest.
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