The current National and Provincial Assemblies will complete its constitutional term on or before March 16, 2013.Elections must be subsequently held within 60 days of parliament having been dissolved.
On 24 January 2013, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) approved electoral reforms ahead of the upcoming general elections. According to the approved reforms, the entire government machinery would come under the authority of the Election Commission once the election schedule is announced.
In the general election, voting will take place in all parliamentary constituencies of Pakistan, to elect Members to seats in the National Assembly(Lower House of Parliament) and to the 4 Provincial Assemblies -
- Punjab Assembly
- Sindh Assembly
- Baluchistan Assembly and
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly
National Assembly of Pakistan(Lower House of Parliament)
Members of the National Assembly are elected by universal adult suffrage (formerly 21 years of age and older but the 17th amendment changed it to 18 years of age.)
The National Assembly is a democratically elected body consisting of a total of 342 members who are referred to as Members of the National Assembly, of which 272 are directly elected members and 70 reserved seats for women and religious minorities.
Each National Assembly is formed for a five-year term, commencing from the date of the first sitting.
A political party must secure 172 seats to obtain and preserve a majority.
National Assembly elections were last held on Feb 18, 2008. On March 17, 2013 National Assembly was dissolved on completion of its five-year term under Article-52 of the Constitution.
Party Position in the outgoing National Assembly
- PPP 121 seats
- PML(N) 91 seats
- PML(Q) 54 seats
- MQM 25 seats
- ANP 13 seats
- Other Parties 14 seats
- Independents 18 seats
- Total 336 seats
Senate(Upper House) of Pakistan
The Senate shall consist of 104 members.Elections are held every 3 years for one half of the Senate and each Senator has a term of 6 years
Party Position in the Senate
- PPP 41 seats
- PML(N) 14 seats
- ANP 12 seats
- PML(Q) 5 seats
- Other Parties 28 seats
- Independents 4 seats
- Total 104 seats
Political Parties contesting in the general elections are -
1)Pakistan People's Party(PPP)the largest political party in Pakistan founded in Nov 1967 by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.PPP was leader of ruling coalition of Pakistan during the period of March 2008 - March 2013
2)Pakistan Muslim League(Nawaz)led by former PM Nawaz Shariff
3)Pakistan Muslim League(Quaid-e-Azam group)a supporter of former President Pervez Musharraff
4)MuttahidaQaumi Movement(MQM)holds immense mobilizing potential in Muhajir community living in urban areas of Sindh province
5)Awami National Party was a part of PPP-led cabinet of federal government (2008-2013)and also runs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province Govt
6)Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(Pakistan Movement for Justice)founded by Cricketer Imran Khan in April 1996
Pakistan`s former Prime Minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Sharif speaks during an election rally in Murree, Pakistan
Parties in the fray are -
- Pakistan People's Party(PPP)formed an alliance with Pakistan Muslim League(Q)
- Pakistan Muslim League(N) formed an alliance with PML(F) and
- Cricketer Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek -e-Insaf
- Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen
- Jamaat -e-Islami and
- Bahawalpur National Awami Party
No comments:
Post a Comment