The counting of votes in Pakistan’s parliamentary elections ended today with independents, who are basically supported by the former prime minister Imran Han, who is now in prison, to win 101 of the 264 seats, according to the electoral commission’s website.

The final tally was released more than 60 hours after voting ended on Thursday, a delay that cast doubt on the process.

The independents have a lead over the party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, which won 75 seats – making it the largest party in parliament as Khan’s independents entered the process as single candidates.

Sharif has said his party is in talks with other factions to form a coalition government as it failed to secure an outright majority on its own.

Khan’s PTI party had threatened nationwide, peaceful protests today if the vote count was not released overnight. During the night some small protest gatherings took place.

Pakistan’s interim government claims the delay was due to communication problems due to an internet outage on election day. The shutdown, which authorities said was for security reasons, raised concerns from rights groups and foreign governments, including the US.

In a post on Platform X today, a PTI party secretary called off general protests but said there would be protests at specific polling stations where there are concerns of election “rigging”.