2002 Pakistani general election

General elections were held in Pakistan on 10 October 2002 to elect the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies.

2002 Pakistani general election

10 October 2002

All 342 seats of the National Assembly
172 seats needed for a majority
Turnout41.8% (5.8pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Zafarullah Khan Jamali Ameen Faheem
Party PML(Q) PPPP
Leader since 20 July 2002 8 June 2002
Leader's seat Nasirabad Hyderabad-I
Last election 18 seats, 21.78%
Seats won 126 81
Seat change New 63
Popular vote 7,500,797 7,616,033
Percentage 25.66% 26.05%
Swing 4.27pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Fazal-ur-Rehman Javed Hashmi
Party MMA PML(N)
Leader since 2002 2001
Leader's seat Dera Ismail Khan-I Multan-II
Last election 137, 45.9%
Seats won 63 19
Seat change New 118
Popular vote 3,335,643 3,409,805
Percentage 11.41% 11.66%
Swing 34.34pp

Results of elections showing political parties.
  • Change from JUI factions total vote share at the 1997 election which JI had boycotted.
Parliament House Islamabad

Prime Minister before election

None
(Military Coup)

Elected Prime Minister

Zafarullah Khan Jamali
PML (Q)

The elections were held under the military government of Pervez Musharraf.[1] The two mainstream parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N), had several restrictions imposed on them and their leaders Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were in exile. In order to address the restrictions, the PPP created the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) under the leadership of Ameen Faheem, to contest the elections on its behalf. The PML-N was also suffering from the party's division into two factions: one that remained loyal to Sharif and were contesting the elections under the leadership of Javed Hashmi, and the other which had broken away to form the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q).

The emergence of the PML-Q marked the beginning of a multi-party system in the country, bringing an end to the decade-long two-party system between the PPP and PML-N. Although its senior leadership was conservative, the PML-Q ideologically aligned themselves with Musharraf's liberal views. In opposition to the liberal regime of Musharraf, Islamist parties organised themselves into the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance, bringing another key player into the political arena.

In the National Assembly elections, the PPPP received the most votes but the PML-Q won the most seats, winning 126 to the PPPP's 81. At the provincial level, the MMA emerged as the largest party in Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province. The PML-N lost its stronghold of Punjab to the PML-Q, while in Sindh there was a hung parliament, with the PPP winning more seats than the National Alliance. Voter turnout was 41.8%.

Although the founder of the PML-Q Mian Muhammad Azhar was considered the most likely candidate to become Prime Minister, he failed to win a seat in the National Assembly. Instead a senior party leader Zafarullah Khan Jamali was tasked with leading the new government. Meanwhile, the MMA leader Fazal-ur-Rehman became the Leader of the Opposition.

Parties and candidates

More than 70 parties, contested the election, the main parties were the Peoples Party Parliamentarians, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Group, Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-i-Azam also called the "King's Party" for its unconditional support to the government, and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), alliance of six religious political parties. Other known parties contesting at the national level included the six-party National Alliance led by former President Farooq Ahmad Lagari, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf and Tahir-ul-Qadri's Pakistan Awami Tehrik.[1]

Results

Summary of the October 2002 National Assembly elections[2]

 
Votes % Seats
Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam) 7,500,797 25.66 126
Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians 7,616,033 26.05 81
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan 3,335,643 11.41 63
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) 3,409,805 11.66 19
Muttahida Qaumi Movement 932,166 3.19 17
National Alliance 1,395,398 4.77 16
Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) 328,923 1.13 5
Pakistan Muslim League (Junejo) 283,755 0.97 3
Pakistan Peoples Party (Sherpao) 98,476 0.34 2
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice) 242,472 0.83 1
Pakistan Awami Tehreek (Pakistan People's Movement) 202,845 0.69 1
Jamhoori Wattan Party (Republican National Party) 96,240 0.33 1
Pakistan Muslim League (Zia-ul-Haq Shaheed) 78,798 0.27 1
Balochistan National Party 57,865 0.20 1
Pakhtun-khwa Milli Awami Party 96,252 0.33 1
Independents 2,722,669 9.31 3
Non-partisans (most joined one of the above parties) - 14.1 21*
Female elected members (included in party seats above) . . 60*
Minorities (included in party seats above) . . 10*
Total (turnout 41.8%) 29,236,687 100 342
Source: Pakistan Electoral Commission, Free and Fair Election Network and CIA Factbook

Not included in total. Except for three independents, most of these are included in the party-seat numbers

References

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