Voting is underway in Pakistan, where parliamentary elections are being held today under draconian security measures, the day after bomb attacks that left dozens dead, and against the background of many doubting that the venture will bring stabilization, an end to the chaotic political situation in the Muslim southeastern state Asia that is equipped with a nuclear arsenal.

In Pakistan, a country of more than 240 million people, which after its independence in 1947 was ruled mainly by military coups, today’s elections are expected to allow a peaceful transfer of power.

This will be only the third time this has happened.

Voters began arriving at 08:00 (local time; 05:00 Greek time) at polling stations, which will remain open until 17:00 (14:00). 128 million people are eligible.

The authorities have decided to suspend the services of mobile phone networks and close the borders with Afghanistan and Iran for today, after the attacks on election centers of candidates in Baluchistan province that left at least 26 dead and 50 injured.

Deadly attacks by jihadists and separatists, restrictions and bans on political parties hostile to Pakistan’s — ever-mighty — military, media censorship and shutdowns, disruptions to internet and mobile network services mark these elections indelibly. .

Cell phones have been used repeatedly in the past to detonate bombs.

According to the interior ministry, some 600,000 members of the security forces were deployed in the territory to guarantee the smooth conduct of the elections, including 137,000 members of the army.

Of the approximately 90,000 polling stations, more than half are located in areas prone to violent incidents.

Nawaz Sharif, a veritable wizard of political survival, is seen as the most likely next prime minister. If the predictions of polling institutes are verified, he will take office for the fourth time. Meanwhile, opposition leader Imran Khan remains in jail after repeated convictions for “corruption” in the final days before the vote. His party was excluded from the ballot.

It is rather characteristic that Mr. Sharif, one of the richest men in Pakistan, was never able to complete a full term as prime minister. After the military coup under General Pervez Musharraf that overthrew him in 1999, he was removed from power in 2017 by a Supreme Court decision following revelations about his dealings in the Panama Papers scandal.