Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took a strong lead over his rivals in Pakistan's general elections, preliminary results showed Sunday. Geo News television reported that Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was leading in 126 out of the 268 contested parliamentary seats. Dunya News channel said PML-N had already won 80 seats. State-run Pakistan Television also put it as the frontrunner. Unofficial preliminary results showed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of former cricket star Imran Khan coming in second place. Former ruling Pakistan People's Party of President Asif Ali Zardari was trailing behind, according to a report of DPA. Electoral officials said the turnout was about 60 per cent of the 86 million eligible voters, one of the highest ever. The general elections in 2008 drew a 44-per-cent turnout. The election marks the first-ever democratic transition from one civilian government to another. Election Commission chief Fakhruddin Ibrahim called himself "a happy man" after declaring the electoral process transparent. "Now the ball is in your court, you see to it that you get good governance," the retired judge told a press conference in Islamabad. In all, 272 seats were up for grabs in the National Assembly, the lower house of the parliament that forms the government. Elections were cancelled in two voting districts due to security reasons. The elections also included 577 seats in the four provincial legislatures.
