Pakistan election results show unexpectedly tight race

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's election results trickled in on Friday but the outcome remained far from clear as of mid-afternoon local time -- an unusually slow count that only fanned speculation over possible manipulation.

Official "provisional" results posted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) showed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif locked in a surprisingly close race with independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of his jailed nemesis and fellow former leader, Imran Khan.