EXPLAINER
Pakistan will vote on February 8 for national and state legislatures amid political fluidity and major economic challenges.
On Thursday, 128 million Pakistanis will elect their country's next government, as well as the legislatures of the country's four provinces.
This is Pakistan's 12th general election and the country's latest attempt to deepen its democratic roots. Pakistan's powerful military establishment has directly ruled for more than three decades of the country's history as an independent nation since 1947. And it has influenced and intervened in politics even when it was not directly in power, a fact acknowledged by the former head of the army Qamar Javed Bajwa in November. 2022.
Those accusations against the military's involvement in politics have been amplified in recent weeks, amid a crackdown on former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Khan is in jail, unable to participate, while the PTI has been denied the use of its electoral symbol, the cricket bat. However, at least officially, civilian leaders have ruled directly for the past 16 years, the longest such period in the history of independent Pakistan.
So what will the February 8 elections be like?
The when, where and what of voting
Despite the tepid campaign season for the elections, the polls will elect a government that will be responsible for bringing stability to a country plagued by a volatile political landscape, increasing incidents of violence and an economy in crisis.
Voters will also elect legislators to their provincial assemblies. In fact, each voter can cast two votes: one for the National Assembly and one for the provincial assembly.
The voting process is scheduled to begin at 08:00 (03:00 GMT) and will continue, without interruption, until 17:00 (12:00 GMT). Those already in line to vote at 5 pm will be able to vote even if it extends the process. If some polling stations witness violence or other disturbances, officials may extend voting to allow voters to cast their ballots.
Counting will begin shortly after voting closes and provisional results are expected to emerge within a few hours.
How are the seats in the National Assembly distributed?
Based on the results of the national census carried out in 2023, the constituencies went through a delimitation process. The boundaries of many electoral districts were changed and the number of seats changed: from 272 in total to 266 in the National Assembly.
The northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa saw an increase in seats from 39 to 45. Punjab, the largest province by population, retained 141 seats. With more than half of the seats in the National Assembly, Punjab becomes the biggest battleground on February 8.
Sindh, the second most populous province, and Balochistan, the country's largest but most impoverished province, retained their previous seats in the National Assembly with 61 and 16, respectively.
The Islamabad Capital Territory has three seats, as before. In addition, 60 seats are reserved for women and 10 for minorities, which are allocated on the basis of 5 percent proportional representation in the National Assembly.
What about the upper house of parliament?
The Senate, the upper house of Pakistan's parliament, has 100 seats. But unlike the National Assembly, the Senate is not directly elected. Its members are elected by the provincial assemblies.
While the National Assembly has a term of five years, the term of the Senate is six years. Senate elections are staggered and held every three years.
The country's Senate, National Assembly and provincial assemblies combine to form the electoral college, which in turn elects the president of Pakistan.
What happens with the provincial elections?
In addition to electing the National Assembly, the assemblies of the four provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh) will elect representatives, who in turn will vote for a chief minister.
In proportion to Punjab's representation in the National Assembly, it also has the largest legislature with 371 seats. The Sindh assembly has 168 seats, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 124 seats and Balochistan with 65.
As in the National Assembly, some of the seats in provincial legislatures are reserved for women and minorities. These are distributed proportionally to the parties based on their representation in the legislature.
