Election 2024 Pakistan

 Blog by Saira Anwer

General Election 2024 (Pakistan)

General elections, originally scheduled to be held in 2023, were held in Pakistan on 8 February 2024 to elect the members of the 16th National Assembly. The Election Commission of Pakistan announced the detailed schedule on 15 December 2023

Places associated with political leaders, theorists, organizations, movements, campaigns, and grassroots political activities all illustrate aspects of the political environment. Independence Hall, for example, is an example of democratic aspirations and reflects political ideas.

The elections were held following two years of political unrest after Prime Minister Imran Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was removed from office by a no-confidence motion. Subsequently, Khan was arrested and convicted for corruption and barred from politics for five years. In the run-up to the elections, a Supreme Court ruling stripped the PTI of their electoral symbol for failing to hold intra-party elections for years

Background (2018 elections)

eneral elections were held in Pakistan on 25 July 2018 after the completion of a five-year term by the outgoing government. At the national level, elections were held in 272 constituencies, each electing one member to the National Assembly. At the provincial level, elections were held in each of the four provinces to elect Members of the Provincial Assemblies (MPA).^[

As a result of the elections, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) became the single largest party at the national level in terms of both popular vote and seats. At the provincial level, the PTI remained the largest party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP); the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) remained the largest party in Sindh and the newly-formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) became the largest party in Balochistan. In Punjab, a hung parliament prevailed with Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) emerging as the largest party in terms of directly elected seats by a narrow margin.However, following the support of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) and the joining of independent MPAs into the PTI, the latter became the largest party and was able to form the government

2022 constitutional crisis

On 8 March 2022, the opposition parties, under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), submitted a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan to the National Assembly's secretariat. On 27 March 2022, Khan waved a diplomatic cypher from US in the public, claiming that it demanded the removal of Khan's government in a coup.Later he changed his stance about the US conspiracy against his government, in an effort to mend ties with the country. However, in August 2023, The Intercept claimed to have published the contents of the diplomatic cable which had American diplomat Donald Lu on record as stating that "all will be forgiven" concerning the country's neutrality in the Ukraine conflict, if the no-confidence motion against Khan were to succeed.After the election, JUI-F president Fazal-ur-Rehman, a critic of Imran Khan, claimed that the motion of no-confidence to remove Khan was introduced on the instructions of former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

On 1 April 2022, Prime Minister Khan announced that in the context of the no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly, the three options were discussed with "establishment" to choose from viz: "resignation, no-confidence [vote] or elections". On 3 April 2022, President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly of Pakistan on Khan's advice after the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly rejected and set-aside the motion of no confidence; this move would have required elections to the National Assembly to be held within 90 days. On 10 April, after a Supreme Court ruling that the no-confidence motion was illegally rejected, a no-confidence vote was conducted and he was ousted from office, becoming the first prime minister in Pakistan to be removed from office by a vote of no confidence. Khan claimed the United States was behind his removal because he conducted an independent foreign policy and had friendly relations with China and Russia. His removal led to protests from his supporters across Pakistan

PDM Government

After the success of the no-confidence motion, on 11 April 2022, Shehbaz Sharif became the Prime Minister after receiving 174 votes out of a total of 342, two more than the required majority with the support of the Pakistan People's Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and various smaller parties under the coalition of the PDM. Dissident members of PTI also supported his candidature. Meanwhile, the remaining PTI members, who were now in the opposition, boycotted the session terming it a continuation of a "foreign conspiracy".A day later, over 100 PTI members tendered resignations from their National Assembly seats.The PDM government remained in power until 10 August 2023. Sharif's tenure was marked by historically high inflation, contraction of the national economy, and a record devaluation of the Pakistani rupee

Parties

FINAL RESULT OF 2024 PAKISTAN ELECTIONS

In the 2024 general elections in Pakistan, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its affiliated independent candidates emerged with the most seats in the National Assembly. PTI-backed candidates secured 97 out of 265 seats, leading the tally but falling short of a majority. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 76 seats, while the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) obtained 54 seats​.

The election was marred by allegations of vote rigging and violence. The PTI, despite its leader Imran Khan being in jail, managed a significant performance. Protests erupted in various cities over claims of electoral tampering, leading to a contentious political atmosphere​.

With no party securing a majority, coalition negotiations are expected to be complex. The most likely scenario is a coalition between the PML-N and PPP, potentially with support from other smaller parties like the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which won 17 seats. PTI has indicated it will not join a coalition and will instead take an opposition role.