THE TORTUOUS TRAJECTORY OF PAKISTANI ELECTIONS

Pakistan’s first national general election, in 1970, led to the creation of Bangladesh. In the 10 subsequent elections to the National Assembly, only twice has a single party won a majority. Moreover, not one prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term 1947-1970

Post independence, Pakistan held provincial polls in Punjab and NWFP in 1951, Sindh in ’53 and E. Pakistan in ’54. A constitution under which a nationwide poll could be held was implemented in ’56, but there was political turmoil, with a succession of PMs appointed and dismissed. In ’58, martial law was imposed and Gen. Mohd Ayub Khan staged a coup, postponing the polls slated for ’59. The election held under his watch in ’62 was indirect, with no political parties involved

1977

Out of 200 elected National Assembly (NA) seats, the Pakistan Peoples Party, led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, won 155—a landslide victory. The Pakistan National Alliance (PNA), a coalition of right-wing parties, won only 36 seats. However, there were allegations of rigging against the PPP, and mass demonstrations

Army chief Gen. Zia-ulHaq declared martial law amidst the unrest, and Bhutto was arrested. Gen. Zia seized power in a coup in July 1977. Later, murder charges were brought against Bhutto and, after a long trial and appeal process, he was hanged on April 4, 1979

1985

Elections were held under the military government of Gen. Zia on a nonpartisan basis, without the participation of political parties. Independents who were supporters of Zia won all 207 electable seats in the NA. Movement for Restoration of Democracy, a group of parties opposing Zia, boycotted the polls

A government was formed, with Muhammad Khan Junejo as PM. In March 1988, Zia dismissed it for being “corrupt and inefficient” and called another party-less election, but his death in a plane crash in August meant Pakistan could return to multi-party polls

1988

PPP, led by Bhutto’s daughter Benazir, won 93 out of 204 seats in the NA; followed by 56 won by the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), an alliance of pro-Zia parties led by Pakistan Muslim League leader Nawaz Sharif

PPP formed a coalition government; Benazir Bhutto became the first female PM of a Muslim nation

President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed Benazir’s government in Aug. 1990 for ‘corruption’, ‘misgovernance’

1990

The Nawaz Sharif-led IJI alliance won 105 out of 207 NA seats, beating the four-party People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) led by the PPP and Benazir, which won only 44. Sharif was sworn in as premier, though the opposition accused him of corrupt electoral practices

Sharif tried to curb the powers of President Khan, who dismissed his govt for ‘corruption’ in 1993. Sharif won a court appeal, but resigned, as did Khan

The PPP won a majority of seats—89—in the NA, but it was not enough. Sharif and his newly named party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), won 73 seats. Like in ’88, Benazir formed a coalition with the aid of smaller parties and became PM for a second time

Amid charges of corruption against the PM and her husband Asif Ali Zardari and political turmoil, President Farooq Leghari dismissed the government in ’96

1997

PML-N won 135 general seats out of 217, making it a landslide mandate against corruption. PPP could win only 18 seats. Sharif became PM for a second time; Benazir left the country in a selfimposed exile

After the Kargil War in 1999, Sharif attempted to remove army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who ousted him in a coup in 1999 and took over as president in 2001

Sharif was arrested and tried for corruption and was handed a 14-year jail sentence. He went into exile. Gen. Musharraf called for elections in 2002

2002

The pro-Musharraf PML (Quaid), led by Mian Muhammad Azhar, won 118 seats, with PPP, led by Ameen Faheem (with Benazir still in exile and sentenced in a corruption case) winning

81. Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA)—an alliance of right-wing, religious parties—won 60 seats, while PML-N won 19

PML-Q in alliance with MMA formed the government, with Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali becoming PM. He resigned owing to differences with the military in 2004; Shaukat Aziz appointed PM

Rising terrorism, the Lal Masjid operation, the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti forced Musharraf to impose emergency in 2007. He announced polls in 2008, which were overshadowed by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Dec. 2007

2008

Riding a sympathy wave, the PPP won 122 seats out of 272, with the PML-N winning 92 and the PML-Q 41. With MQM and Awami Nationalist Party (ANP), they formed a coalition, with

Yusuf Raza Gilani being made PM

Impeachment proceedings were started against Gen. Musharraf, who left the country and went into exile

Gilani was disqualified by the Supreme Court in 2012 for “contempt of court”, and was succeeded by Raja Pervez Ashraf

When fresh polls were called in 2013, it was the first time a civilian government had lasted five years without its tenure cut short by the military, or presidents controlled by it

2013

The PML-N, again led by Sharif and allied with PML-Q and ANP, won 126 seats out of 272, while PPP led by Zardari won 38 seats. It saw the emergence of Imran’s PTI as a significant new force, winning 27 seats. Heading a coalition, Sharif took over as PM for the third time

Sharif was dismissed by the SC on charges of concealing assets in 2017 after his name featured in the Panama Papers

2018

The 2018 general election saw Imran Khan’s PTI win 116 seats, with PML-N, now led by Shehbaz Sharif—his brother Nawaz still disqualified and in exile—winning 64 and the PPP coming third after winning 43. Imran formed the government with MQM and PML-Q, and was sworn in as PM

His gradual falling out with the army amid a deepening economic crisis in the pandemic years saw him being isolated, and he was voted out in a noconfidence motion in April 2022

The PML-N, PPP and other parties came together in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance to oust Imran; Shehbaz became the PM as consensus candidate