Pakistani cricket icon-turned-politician Imran Khan inched closer to power on Thursday after a general election that has been marred by long delays in ballot counting and claims of rigging by opponents.
With nearly half the votes counted from Wednesday's election, Khan's Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), or Pakistan Movement for Justice, was in a commanding lead in the nuclear-armed, Muslim nation.
But supporters of jailed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the counting process was an assault on democracy in a country that has a history of military rule.