Jailed Nawaz Sharif vs Imran Khan In Historic Pak Vote Today | Read

Pakistanis are voting today to elect a new prime minister in only the second democratic transition of power in the country's 70-year coup-studded history. The contest has largely boiled down to a two-way race between former cricketer Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Allegations of manipulation by the army and concerns over the participation of terrorist groups will weigh on the credibility of the polls. According to the Pakistan's Election Commission, more than 3,000 candidates are contesting for 272 general seats of the National Assembly, while some 8,000 candidates are running for 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies - Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. A public holiday has been declared across the country today to facilitate the voting process.