Historic polls or a military dud?

The run up to the Pakistan polls have been overshadowed by terrorist attacks, hundreds of arrests and accusations of widespread interference by the military. They have also seen a massive crackdown on the media and controversy over militant groups' electoral participation.

The Pakistan Army has insisted that it has no direct role to play in today's elections that could either prove historic or turn into a shadow-controlled dud.

But the military's claim seems like mere lip service when considered that the Army will deploy four times more personnel on election duty than it did in the last elections in 2013. And they have wide ranging powers now to decide the fate of polls. This includes the power to hold on-the-spot trials and hand people punishments and fines.

In the past, the military used to either stage a direct coup or use special powers to sack an elected government and then manipulate elections to ensure it wasn't re-elected. Critics say the establishment is resorting to more primitive tactics to recover its edge.

Many experts contend that it will be business as usual whoever wins the election, with the military -- which has ruled the country directly or indirectly for much of its 71-year history -- remaining Pakistan's de facto ruler.

Almost all analysts agreed an outright win for either party was unlikely, meaning Pakistan will be left with a coalition government, likely the PPP -- led by the 29-year-old political scion Bilawal Bhutto Zardari -- propping up one of the other parties.

Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the US-based Wilson Center, said that the military remains "very much ensconced" at the upper echelons of power in Pakistan.

"It remains powerful and popular, even amid allegations of election meddling, and the most likely election outcome -- a weak coalition government -- is the military's best-case scenario," he said.

And the military has been allegedly working in recent years to "mainstream" militant-linked groups into politics.

Religious parties - some new, others established - are fielding more than 1,500 candidates for national and provincial assemblies, compared with a few hundred in 2013.

Analysts say even with the increase in candidates, Islamists are unlikely to win more than a dozen or so seats in parliament. But that might not be the point.

Pakistani author and analyst Ayesha Siddiqa, a longtime critic of the military, believes the army, tired of civilian governments challenging its grip on foreign policy and large chunks of the economy, is seeking to weaken mainstream parties.

Before the polls, representatives of different civil society organisations and main political parties in Pakistan, barring Imran Khan led PTI, condemned the alleged electoral irregularities and 'interference'.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has predicted that the general elections will be the dirtiest, most micromanaged and most intensively participated polls in the country's history.

It is now hours left to know what will happen in Pakistan elections. But the indications are clear. And history tends to repeat.