Attack Caps Wave of Violence Ahead of Pakistan Election
An army soldier stands with a police officer in front of a damaged Pakistan People's Party (PPP) election campaign office after a bomb blast, in Quetta, May 10, 2013.
Bombings on the eve of Pakistan's landmark election have killed at least four people and wounded 18 others.
The four died in a blast Friday near political party offices in North Waziristan, a Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold. Earlier reports had put the death toll at five. Thirteen people were wounded.
Pakistan Elections - What's at Stake?
What's at Stake?
Voters choose members of the National Assembly, or lower house parliament
342 seats, 60 are reserved for women, 10 are reserved for religious minorities
Seats are distributed by region:
Federally Administered Tribal Area - 12 seats
Federal Capital, Islamabad - 2 seats
Punjab Province - 183 seats
Sindh Province - 75 seats
Khyber Pakhtunkhaw Province - 43 seats
Baluchistan Province - 17 seats
Voters also electing members of four provincial assemblies
A blast in the southwestern part of the country wounded five more people outside an office being used by the Pakistan People's Party.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings, but the Taliban have carried out numerous attacks to undermine the polls and say they have dispatched suicide bombers for the national election. More than 100 people have been killed and scores wounded since late April.
Pakistan's military says it is deploying thousands of troops to polling stations and counting centers.
Pakistan's Main Political Parties
Main Political Parties Fielding Candidates
Pakistan Peoples Party or PPP
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz or PML-N
Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) or PML-Q
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI
Regional and Ethnic Parties
Muttahida Quami Movement or MQM
Awami National Party or ANP
Baluchistan National Party (Mengal)
National Party
Religious Political Parties
Jamaat-i-Islami (JI)
Jamiat Ulema Islam (Fazlur Rehman) or JUI-F.
The recent bombings of two rallies of a leading Islamic party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, strengthened views the Taliban is opposed to democracy and is targeting anyone taking part in the elections.
On Thursday, the last day of campaigning, militants kidnapped Ali Haider Gilani in Punjab province. The son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is running for a provincial assembly seat in the district
Analysts expect Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to be the likely winner in the historic parliament elections Saturday, marking the first time in the country's history that a civilian government has finished its term and will hand over power to another.
Pakistani politician and former cricketer Imran Khan had a dramatic fall at a political rally Tuesday in Lahore. However, he made a televised plea from his hospital bed Thursday for people to vote for his PTI party in the May 11 elections.
Pakistan Prepares for Elections
1/11Paramilitary soldiers stand guard along a road outside of the district city court in Karachi, Pakistan, May 10, 2013.
Pakistanis head to the polls Saturday, marking the first handover from one civilian government to another in the country's history.
2/11Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addresses his supporters during an election campaign rally, in Lahore, Pakistan, May 9, 2013.
Pakistanis head to the polls Saturday, marking the first handover from one civilian government to another in the country's history.
3/11Supporters of Pakistan's People's party chant slogans during a rally in Karachi, Pakistan, May 9, 2013.
Pakistanis head to the polls Saturday, marking the first handover from one civilian government to another in the country's history.
4/11A vendor talks to a customer as others chat at a stall next to posters of various candidates for the upcoming election pasted on a wall in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, May 8, 2013.
Pakistanis head to the polls Saturday, marking the first handover from one civilian government to another in the country's history.
5/11Supporters of Pakistan Muslim League, headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose election symbol is a lion, rally in Islamabad, May 8, 2013.
Pakistanis head to the polls Saturday, marking the first handover from one civilian government to another in the country's history.
6/11Supporters of Tehreek-e-Insaf, headed by Pakistan's cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan, sit in a make-shift election office in the Jalozai camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, May 8, 2013.
Pakistanis head to the polls Saturday, marking the first handover from one civilian government to another in the country's history.
7/11Christian supporters of Imran Khan, Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician and chairman of political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, hold placards as they light candles next to a portrait of Khan in Lahore, Pakistan, May 8, 2013.
Pakistanis head to the polls Saturday, marking the first handover from one civilian government to another in the country's history.
8/11Election workers prepare ballot boxes at an election commission office in Quetta, Pakistan, May 8, 2013.
Pakistanis head to the polls Saturday, marking the first handover from one civilian government to another in the country's history.
9/11Officials from the Election Commission of Pakistan prepare sacks of stationery materials, before they are transported to polling offices, in the premises of the district city court in Karachi, May 8, 2013.
Pakistanis head to the polls Saturday, marking the first handover from one civilian government to another in the country's history.
10/11Supporters of Pakistan's religious political party Jamaat-e-Islami hang campaign banners in the Jalozai camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, May 8, 2013.
Pakistanis head to the polls Saturday, marking the first handover from one civilian government to another in the country's history.
11/11A rickshaw is decorated with campaign posters for candidates in the upcoming election in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, May 8, 2013.
Pakistanis head to the polls Saturday, marking the first handover from one civilian government to another in the country's history.
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