Sawt Falasteen - Pakistanis say vote matters despite alleged election rigging

"I believe in democracy and I think my vote matters," said 22-year-old psychology student Haleema Shafiq, among the first to vote in the capital Islamabad.

"I cast my vote as it's my duty," she told AFP inside a polling station. "I wish for a deserving party to come to power."

Polls opened at 8:00 am (0300 GMT) for 128 million eligible voters, with the first participants trickling into the Noorpur Shahan girl's school and inking their fingers to stamp papers in gender-segregated booths.

Early voters were outnumbered by around a dozen armed security personnel staffing the station, a day after twin blasts claimed by the Islamic State killed 28 outside candidate offices in the nation's southwest.

"I want a government that can make Pakistan safe for girls," said Shafiq.

Analysts predict a low turnout after a muted campaign overshadowed by the jailing of ex-prime minister Imran Khan and the hobbling of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party by the military establishment.

"Is this the way an election should be conducted?" asked 40-year-old Imran Khan, a driver who shares his name with the jailed opposition leader.

"Everyone has the right to vote according to their own will," he said. "Today is not the day to stay at home. Those who choose to sit at home today will do injustice to themselves."

Monitors say the treatment of PTI amounts to "pre-poll rigging", and the party has voiced fears that voters would face interference at polling stations.

Ballots were posted into white and green ballot boxes, Pakistan's national colours, and crowds steadily grew in the first hour after polls opened.

"I arrived 20 minutes early to cast my vote because I believe my vote matters," said 39-year-old Syed Tassawar. "My only fear is whether my vote will be counted for the same party I cast it for."

"At the same time, for the poor it does not matter who is ruling -- we need a government that can control inflation, that's the only thing that matters to people like us," added the construction worker.

Whoever wins Thursday's election will inherit a divided country with an economy in tatters -- with galloping inflation, a rupee in freefall and a balance of payments crisis.

"We have pretty high expectations from the new government to improve our conditions, said 21-year-old first-time voter Zainab Asghar.

"Every single vote matters," she said.

L.AbuAli--SF-PST