Pakistan holds 2024 general elections

People are casting their ballots at a polling station during the general elections in Peshawar, Pakistan, on February 8, 2024. Pakistani voters are heading to heavily guarded polling stations today to elect a new government for a five-year term amid heightened security threats. According to the election body, the polling began at 8 a.m. local time and is continuing until 5 p.m. The counting of millions of votes cast will start soon after the polling time ends. There are more than 128 million registered voters, with 59.3 million (46 percent) being women and 69.2 million or 54 percent being men. More than 20 million new voters have been registered for the 2024 elections. Nearly 18,000 candidates, including 4797 men, 313 women, and two transgender contestants, are running for 266 contestable parliamentary seats.