Pakistan Elections 2024: Pakistan goes to the polls on Thursday with the jailing of popular former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the winner of the last Pakistan election, dominating headlines despite an economic crisis and other woes threatening the nuclear-armed country. The South Asian nation of 241 million people is reeling from decades-high inflation and an economy that has come to a grinding halt as it navigates a tough International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme.
Here are some facts about how the electoral system works in Pakistan
Pakistan is a parliamentary democracy and voting will take place for seats in the federal legislature, called the National Assembly, and four provincial, or state, legislatures.
- 128 million Pakistanis out of a population of 241 million are eligible to vote - all those above 18. Polling booths are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (0400 GMT to 1200 GMT) usually but time can be extended in exceptional individual circumstances.
- On Pakistan election day, voters will cast their ballots for two legislators to represent their constituency -one for the National Assembly, and another for the provincial assembly. There are 5,121 candidates contesting for the federal legislature and 12,695 for the provinces.
- The National Assembly consists of 336 seats - 266 are decided through direct voting on polling day, while 70 reserved seats - 60 for women and 10 for non-Muslims - are allotted according to the strength of each party in the house.
- Victorious candidates become members of the National Assembly. Independent candidates have the option to join any party after the elections.
- Once constituted, the National Assembly holds a parliamentary vote to select a leader of the house, who becomes the prime minister.
- A successful candidate must show a simple majority in the house - that is, the support of at least 169 members.
- Once a prime ministerial candidate wins the vote in the National Assembly, they are sworn in as prime minister. The new prime minister picks cabinet ministers, who form the federal government.
- A similar process is followed at the provincial level to pick a chief minister and a provincial government.
- Although Pakistan's military has the most say in "selecting" the Prime Minister, this time, General Asim Munir's role will be under watch.
(With inputs from agency)
