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    History of Elections

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    Farwan Akhtar
    Pakistan has held several national elections since gaining independence in 1947. The first direct elections for the central legislature were not held until 1951, and these elections saw the Muslim League win the most seats but fail to secure a majority. Subsequent elections faced issues of rigging and the imposition of martial law, with General Zia-ul-Haq holding a non-party election in 1985 and dissolving opposition parties. The elections of 1970 were Pakistan's first truly democratic national polls. Later elections in the 1980s and 1990s saw power transfer between the PPP and PML-N until General Musharraf seized control in a coup in 1999.

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    History of Elections

    Uploaded by

    Farwan Akhtar
    77 views2 pages
    Pakistan has held several national elections since gaining independence in 1947. The first direct elections for the central legislature were not held until 1951, and these elections saw the Muslim League win the most seats but fail to secure a majority. Subsequent elections faced issues of rigging and the imposition of martial law, with General Zia-ul-Haq holding a non-party election in 1985 and dissolving opposition parties. The elections of 1970 were Pakistan's first truly democratic national polls. Later elections in the 1980s and 1990s saw power transfer between the PPP and PML-N until General Musharraf seized control in a coup in 1999.

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    A brief history of elections

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    history of elections

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    Pakistan has held several national elections since gaining independence in 1947. The first direct elections for the central legislature were not held until 1951, and these elections saw the Muslim League win the most seats but fail to secure a majority. Subsequent elections faced issues of rigging and the imposition of martial law, with General Zia-ul-Haq holding a non-party election in 1985 and dissolving opposition parties. The elections of 1970 were Pakistan's first truly democratic national polls. Later elections in the 1980s and 1990s saw power transfer between the PPP and PML-N until General Musharraf seized control in a coup in 1999.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    77 views2 pages

    History of Elections

    Uploaded by

    Farwan Akhtar
    Pakistan has held several national elections since gaining independence in 1947. The first direct elections for the central legislature were not held until 1951, and these elections saw the Muslim League win the most seats but fail to secure a majority. Subsequent elections faced issues of rigging and the imposition of martial law, with General Zia-ul-Haq holding a non-party election in 1985 and dissolving opposition parties. The elections of 1970 were Pakistan's first truly democratic national polls. Later elections in the 1980s and 1990s saw power transfer between the PPP and PML-N until General Musharraf seized control in a coup in 1999.

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    A Brief History of Election in Pakistan:

    1: During 1947-1954 no direct election was held for the central legislature.

    2: Direct elections (1951)


    However, direct elections (1951) to the provincial assemblies were held on the basis of adult
    franchise in 1951. In Punjab, 50 per cent of the electorate polled their votes. The Muslim League got
    30 per cent votes polled and bagged 143 seats out of the total 197 seats

     The Muslim League could get only 10 seats in East Pakistan while the United Front got 223
    seats and the National Congress 24 seats. Many Muslim League leaders had their election
    security forfeited.

    3: Elections to the Second Constituent Assembly (1955)


    The elections to the Second Constituent Assembly were held on June 21, 1955. The Provincial Assembly
    members served as the Electoral College for the election to the Second Constituent Assembly.

    4: Election under Basic Democracy (BD) 1960-1965:


     The presidential election was held in 1960, in which 75,283 Basic Democracy (BD) members
    reposed trust in then President Field Marshal Ayub Khan. The referendum also gave him the
    mandate for making a constitution. The BD members elected the National Assembly in 1962.
    The total members were 156, including six women with 50 per cent representation each.

     In 1965, the presidential election was held again. Ayub Khan and Madr-e-Millat Mohtarma
    Fatima Jinnah contested this election. President Ayub used the state machinery and funds to
    buy votes of BD members. The election was rigged and Ayub Khan won by securing 49,700
    votes as against 28,345 obtained by the Madr-e-Millat.

    5: First direct elections:


     In the history of Pakistan, the first direct elections to the national and provincial assemblies
    were held in 1970.
     The Awami League got 160,
     PPP 81,
     PML (Q) 9, PML (C) 7, NAP 6 and the JUI 7 seats in the National Assembly.

    Almost 60 per cent of registered voters used their right to vote in this election. General Yahya Khan did
    not transfer power to Mujib-ur-Rehman and chose to opt for an army operation in East Pakistan in order
    to resolve the political issue. Dhaka fell to the Indian Army after the 1971 war with India. Gen Yahya
    was forced to hand over power to the PPP Chairman, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was a majority leader in
    West Pakistan.

    6: Z. A. Bhutto (election in March 1977)


     Z. A. Bhutto was over-confident due to his popular revolutionary reform. He decided to hold a
    general election in March 1977, a year earlier of his constitutional term. The PPP once again got
    a two-third majority in the National Assembly and won 155 seats. The Pakistan National
    Alliance (PNA) could win only 36 seats.
     The opposition did not accept the result and started a movement against the PPP government
    which culminated in the martial law by General Zia-ul-Haq.
    7: General Zia (election in 1985)
     General Zia held the election in 1985 on non-party basis. The Movement for Restoration of
    Democracy (MRD) – an alliance of 11 political parties - boycotted these elections.

    8: Election 1988
     After the death of General Zia-ul-Haq the election was held in October 1988 in which the PPP
    got 93 seats in the National Assembly, IJI 54 and the Independents 40 seats. Benazir Bhutto
    was elected as the first woman prime minister of Pakistan. She could rule only for 20 months
    when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed her government under Article 58/2-B
    of the Constitution.

    9: Election 1990
     The election, which was held in 1990, was rigged. Some 140 million rupees were distributed
    among the candidates opposed to the PPP by the ISI. The IJI grabbed 106 seats of the National
    Assembly, whereas Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDA) got only 44 seats. Mian Nawaz Sharif
    was elected the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He ruled the country till 18 July 1993 when his
    government was dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

    10: Election 1993


     New election was held in October 1993. Moeen Qureshi was named as a caretaker prime
    minister of Pakistan. PPP secured 89 seats of the National Assembly while PML got 73 seats.
    Benazir Bhutto formed government as the second woman prime minister. Her government was
    however dissolved by President Farooq Khan Leghari on November 5, 1996 under
    Article 58/2-B of the Constitution.

    11: Election 1997


     New election was held on February 7, 1997. The PML, under Nawaz Sharif, got a heavy
    mandate by securing 137 seats. The PPP could win only 18 seats in the 1997 election. Mian
    Nawaz Sharif once again formed the government as prime minister. His government was
    sacked by Army Chief General Pervaiz Musharraf, who became the Chief Executive of Pakistan.

    Election in 2002:
    General Musharraf held election in 2002 in which the king's party, PML (Q), secured 118 seats of the
    National Assembly. PPP got 81 seats, Muttahida Majlis-Amal (MMA) got 60 seats and PML-N only 18
    seats.

    Mir Zafarullah Jamali was elected the prime minister. The PML-Q government completed its full term
    because General Musharraf remained President of Pakistan as well as Chief of the Army Staff (COAS).

    The last election was held in February 2008 after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. As a result,
    the PPP emerged as the majority party and formed a coalition government first with the help of PML-N,
    MQM and JUI but the PML-N left the coalition. However, the PML-Q joined the government. And, now,
    the citizens of Pakistan are looking forward to the new election which is just around the corner.

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