Editing Elections in Pakistan (section)

==History of elections in Pakistan==
{| class="wikitable"
!Election
!Popular Vote
!Seats
!Electoral Vote
!Result
|-
|[[1947 Pakistani Constituent Assembly election|1947 Constituent Assembly election]]
| 
|[[All-India Muslim League]]
|
|[[Liaquat Ali Khan]] elected as Prime Minister, [[Liaquat Ali Khan government|Khan ministry]] formed, [[List of members of the 1st Constituent Assembly of Pakistan|1st Constituent Assembly]] convenes.
|-
|[[1955 Pakistani Constituent Assembly election|1955 Constituent Assembly election]]
| -
|[[Muslim League (Pakistan)|Pakistan Muslim League]] and [[United Front (East Pakistan)|United Front]]
|404 MLAs elect 72 members.
|[[Chaudhri Muhammad Ali]] elected as Prime Minister, [[Chaudhri Muhammad Ali government|Ali—Huq coalition]] formed, [[List of members of the 2nd Constituent Assembly of Pakistan|2nd Constituent Assembly]] convenes.
|-
|[[1962 Pakistani general election|1962 General Election]]
| -
|150 members elected
6 reserved seats for women
|80,000 basic democrats elect 150 member, 150 members elect 6 reserved seats for women.
|National Assembly convenes.
|-
|[[1965 Pakistani general election|1965 General Election]]
|[[Combined Opposition Parties]]
|[[Convention Muslim League]]
|[[Ayub Khan]]
|[[Ayub Khan]] elected as President
|-
!Election
!Popular Vote
!Seats
! colspan="2" |Results
|-
|[[1970 Pakistani general election|1970 General Election]]
|[[All-Pakistan Awami League]]
|[[All-Pakistan Awami League]]
| colspan="2" |[[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman|Sheikh Mujib]] is denied his win and Pakistan splits in two.
|-
|[[1971 East Pakistan by-elections|1971 By-elections]]
|
|
| colspan="2" |The elections were annulled after the [[independence of Bangladesh]].
|-
|[[1977 Pakistani general election|1977 General election]]
|[[Pakistan People's Party]]
|[[Pakistan People's Party]]
| colspan="2" |Mass protests due to rigging. [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|General Zia]] initiates [[1977 Pakistani military coup|military coup]]
|-
|[[1985 Pakistani general election|1985 General election]]
|[[Independent politician|Independents]]
|[[Independent politician|Independents]]
| colspan="2" |[[Muhammad Khan Junejo]] elected as Prime Minister
|-
|[[1988 Pakistani general election|1988 General election]]
|[[Pakistan People's Party]]
|[[Pakistan People's Party]]
| colspan="2" |[[Benazir Bhutto]] elected as Prime Minister
|-
|[[1990 Pakistani general election|1990 General Election election]]
|[[Islami Jamhoori Ittehad]]
|[[Islami Jamhoori Ittehad]]
| colspan="2" |[[Nawaz Sharif]] elected as Prime Minister
|-
|[[1993 Pakistani general election|1993 General election]]
|[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]]
|[[Pakistan People's Party]]
| colspan="2" |[[Benazir Bhutto]] elected as Prime minister
|-
|[[1997 Pakistani general election|1997 General election]]
|[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]]
|[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]]
| colspan="2" |[[Nawaz Sharif]] elected as Prime Minister
|-
|[[2002 Pakistani general election|2002 General election]]
|[[Pakistan People's Party]]
|[[Pakistan Muslim League (Q)]]
| colspan="2" |Hung Parliament, [[Zafarullah Khan Jamali]] elected by the National Assembly
|-
|[[2008 Pakistani general election|2008 General Election]]
|[[Pakistan People's Party]]
|[[Pakistan People's Party]]
| colspan="2" |[[Yusuf Raza Gilani|Yusuf Raza Gillani]] elected as Prime Minister
|-
|[[2013 Pakistani general election|2013 General Election]]
|[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]]
|[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]]
| colspan="2" |[[Nawaz Sharif]] elected as Prime Minister
|-
|[[2013 Pakistani by-elections|2013 by-elections]]
| colspan="2" |[[National Assembly of Pakistan]]: [[Pakistan Democratic Movement|PMLN]]
[[Provincial assemblies of Pakistan]]: [[Pakistan Democratic Movement|PMLN]]
| colspan="2" |[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)|PMLN]] gains a solid majority in the National Assembly.
|-
|[[2018 Pakistani general election|2018 General Election]]
|[[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf|PTI]]
|[[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf|PTI]]
| colspan="2" |[[Imran Khan]] elected as prime minister
|-
|[[October 2018 Pakistani by-elections|2018 by-elections]]
| colspan="2" |[[National Assembly of Pakistan|National Assembly of Pakistan]]: [[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf|PTI]],
[[Provincial assemblies of Pakistan]]: [[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf|PTI]]
| colspan="2" |PTI suffers losses and is unable to retain many seats. Both opposition and Government make gains.
|-
|[[2024 Pakistani general election|2024 General Election]]
|[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)|PMLN]]
|[[Independent politician|Independents]]
|
| colspan="2" |Hung parliament,
|-
|[[2024 Pakistani by-elections|2024 by-elections]]
| colspan="2" |[[National Assembly of Pakistan|National Assembly]]: [[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf|PTI]]
[[Provincial assemblies of Pakistan|Provincial Assemblies]]: [[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf|PTI]]
| colspan="2" |Government coalition gains and [[Sunni Ittehad Council|SIC]]-[[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf|PTI]]-[[Independent politician|IND]] alliance loses seats, no significant changes, status quo maintained.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}
|-
|[[Next Pakistani general election]]
|



|

| 


|}

===Past elections===
Between 1947 and 1958, there were no direct elections held in Pakistan at the national level. Provincial elections were held occasionally. The [[West Pakistan]] provincial elections were described as "a farce, a mockery and a [[Electoral fraud|fraud upon the electorate]]."<ref>''Report of the Electoral Reforms Commission'', [[Government of Pakistan]], 1956</ref>

The first direct elections held in the country after independence were for the Provincial Assembly of the [[West Punjab|Punjab]] between 10 and 20 March, The elections were held for 197 seats. As many as 939 candidates contested the election for 189 seats, while the remaining seats were filled unopposed. Seven political parties were in the race. The election was held on an [[Universal suffrage|universal]] basis with approximately one-million voters. The turnout remained low: in [[Lahore]], the turnout was 30 percent of the listed voters, and in rural areas of Punjab it was much lower.

On 8 December 1951 the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North West Frontier Province]] held elections for Provincial legislature seats. In a pattern that would be repeated throughout Pakistan's electoral history, many of those who lost accused the winners of cheating and rigging the elections. Similarly, in May, 1953 elections to the Provincial legislature of [[Sindh]] were held and they were also marred by accusations of rigging.

In April 1954, the general elections were held for the [[East Pakistan Legislative Assembly]], in which the [[Pakistan Muslim League]] lost to the pan-[[Bengali nationalism|Bengali nationalist]] [[United Front (East Pakistan)|United Front]] alliance.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hrcpelectoralwatch.org/his_persp.cfm |title=Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Election |access-date=2006-05-18 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195840/http://www.hrcpelectoralwatch.org/his_persp.cfm |url-status=usurped }}</ref> Incumbent Prime Minister of East Pakistan Mr. Nurul Amin lost his parliament seat to a veteran student leader and language movement stalwart Khaleque Nawaz Khan in Mr. Amin's home constituency Nandail of Mymensingh district. Nurul Amin's crushing defeat to the United Front alliance effectively eliminates Pakistan Muslim League from the political landscape of the then East Pakistan.

The [[1970 Pakistani general election]], was the first direct general election after independence of Pakistan from British India. After a decades-long struggle, the military government was forced to transfer power to democratically elected officials. In East Pakistan, the election was portrayed as referendum on self-governance for the Bengali citizens of Pakistan, who made up nearly 55% of Pakistan's population and were yet not given rights consistent with those of West Pakistanis.

The election was won by the [[Awami League]], having 167 seats out of 313, and [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]] was to be the first democratically elected [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]]. But the military government, at the request of opposition leader [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]], refused to transfer power to the elected Parliament, causing the beginning of the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]]. 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Political parties' performances in general elections under military government(s)
|-
! Political parties !!  [[1970 Pakistani general election|1970]]!! [[1985 Pakistani general election|1985]]
|-
|[[All-Pakistan Awami League|Awami League]] (AL) || {{Composition bar|160|300|hex=#66FF00}} || {{Composition bar|0|345|hex=#66FF00}} 
|-
|[[Pakistan Peoples Party]] (PPP)|| {{Composition bar|81|300|hex=red}} || {{Composition bar|0|345|hex=red}}
|-
|[[Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan|Jamaat-e-Islami]] (JI) || {{Composition bar|4|300|hex=#00AAE4}} || {{Composition bar|61|200|hex=#00AAE4}} 
|-
|[[Pakistan Muslim League]] (PML) || {{Composition bar|9|300|hex=green}} || {{Composition bar|96|200|hex=green}}
|-
|[[Council Muslim League|PML (Council)]] (PML-C) ||{{Composition bar|4|300|hex=#006600}} || {{Composition bar|0|200|hex=#009000}}
|-
|[[Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam]] (JUI)||{{Composition bar|7|300|hex=#009000}} ||{{Composition bar|8|200|hex=#009000}} 
|-
|[[Convention Muslim League|PML (Convention)]] (PML (C))||{{Composition bar|0|300|hex=#009000}} 
|-
| [[National Awami Party (Wali)]] (NAP(W))|| {{Composition bar|6|300|hex=red}} || {{Composition bar|2|200|hex=red}}
|-
| [[Pakistan Democratic Party]] (PDP)||{{Composition bar|1|300|hex=blue}} ||{{Composition bar|0|200|hex=blue}}
|-
|Independents||{{Composition bar|16|300|hex=#536872}} ||{{Composition bar|33|200|hex=#536872}}
|-
!Total Seats
|-
| Total seats in [[Parliament of Pakistan|State Parliament]] ||300 ||200
|-
![[Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan|Chief Election Commissioner(s)]] 
| [[Abdus Sattar (president)|Abdus Sattar]] || [[Karam Elahi Chohan|Karam Illahi Chohan]]
|-
|Elections under President(s) 
| [[Yahya Khan]] || [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|Zia-ul-Haq]]
|-
!Voter turnout
| 63%.0|| 52.9%
|}
All data and calculations are provided by [[Election Commission of Pakistan]] as the public domain. The general elections in 1985 were non-partisan general elections, but many technocrats belonged to the one party to another.

===General elections from 1977 to 2013===

After the [[Bangladesh Liberation War|Liberation]] of [[East Pakistan]], [[Democracy in Pakistan|democracy]] returned to the country. In 1977, the [[1977 Pakistani general election|general elections]] were held but due to election violence instigated by the right-wing [[Pakistan National Alliance|PNA]], the [[Operation Fair Play|martial law]] took advance against the left oriented [[Pakistan Peoples Party]], or PPP.

In 1988, the [[1988 Pakistani general election|general elections]] were held again which marked the PPP coming in power but dismissed in two years following the [[Civil war in Afghanistan (1989–92)|lawlessness situation]] in the country. In 1990, the [[1990 Pakistani general election|general elections]] saw the [[Islamic Democratic Alliance|right-wing]] alliance forming the government but dismissed in 1993 after the alliance collapsed. The [[1993 Pakistani general election|general elections]] in 1993 saw the PPP forming government after successfully seeking [[Plurality voting system|plurality]] in the [[Parliament of Pakistan|Parliament]]. [[Prime Minister of Pakistan|Prime Minister]] [[Benazir Bhutto]] made critical decisions during her era, ranging from working to strengthening the education, defense, foreign policy and pressed her policies hard to implement her domestic program initiatives. Despite her tough rhetoric, Prime Minister Bhutto's own position deteriorated in her native province, [[Sindh]], and lost her support following the death of her [[Murtaza Bhutto|younger brother]]. Tales of high-scale [[Corruption charges against Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari|corruption cases]] also maligned her image in the country and was dismissed from her post by her own hand-picked [[Farooq Leghari|president]] in 1996. The [[1997 Pakistani general elections|1997 general elections]] saw the centre-right, [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]], or PML (N), ging the [[exclusive mandate]] in the country and [[supermajority]] in the parliament. Despite Sharif's popularity in 1998 and popular peace initiatives in 1999, the [[1999 Pakistani coup d'état|conspiracy]] was hatched against Sharif by General [[Pervez Musharraf|Musharraf]], who accused Sharif of hijacking the plane and pressed terrorism charges against Sharif in the [[Judge Advocate General Branch|military courts]]; thus ending Sharif's government.

Ordered by the [[Supreme Court of Pakistan|Supreme Court]], General Musharraf held [[2002 Pakistani general election|general election]] in 2002, preventing Sharif and Benazir Bhutto from keeping the public office. With [[Zafarullah Khan Jamali|Zafarullah Jamali]] becoming the Prime Minister in 2002, he left the office for [[Shaukat Aziz]] in 2004. After the deadly [[September 11 attacks|9/11 attacks]] in the [[United States]] and Musharraf's unconditional [[Pakistan's role in the War on Terror|policy]] to support the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|American war]] in [[Afghanistan]], further damaged Musharraf's credibility in the country. In an unsuccessful [[Pakistan state of emergency 2007|attempt]] to dismiss the [[Supreme Court of Pakistan|Judicial system]], Musharraf [[Movement to impeach Pervez Musharraf|dramatically]] fall from power. The [[2008 Pakistani general elections|2008 general elections]] allowed the PPP, assisted by the left-wing alliance, further consolidated in opposition to Musharraf, though it was plagued with [[Rolling blackout|loadshedding]], law and order situations, foreign policy issues, and poor economic performances. In [[2013 Pakistani general election|elections]] held in 2013, the PML (N) won 166 seats in the National Assembly and formed the government.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Political parties performances in General elections since 1977
|-
! Political parties !!  [[1977 Pakistani general election|1977]]!! [[1988 Pakistani general election|1988]] !! [[1990 Pakistani general election|1990]] !! [[1993 Pakistani general election|1993]] !! [[1997 Pakistani general election|1997]] !! [[2002 Pakistani general election|2002]] !! [[2008 Pakistani general election|2008]]!! [[2013 Pakistani general election|2013]] 
|-
|[[Pakistan Peoples Party]] (PPP)|| 155 || 93 || 45 || 89 || 18 || 81 || 124 || 42
|-
|[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]] (PML (N))|| 8 || 54 || 106 || 73 ||  137 || 19 || 91 || 166
|-
|[[Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan|Muttahida Qaumi Movement]] (P) || 0 || 13 || 15 || 0 || 12 || 17 || 25 || 18
|-
|[[Awami National Party]] (ANP) || 17 || 2 || 6 || 3 || 10 || 0 || 13 || 1
|-
|[[Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam|Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam (F)]] (JUI(F)) ||0 || 7 ||6 ||0 || 2 ||0 ||0 || 10
|-
|[[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf]] (PTI) ||0 || 0 ||0 ||0 ||0 ||1 ||0 || 35
|-
|[[Pakistan Muslim League (Q)|Pakistan Muslim League(Q)]] (PML (Q)) || 0 || 0|| 0 || 0 ||0 ||118 || 54 ||2
|-
||[[Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan|Jamaat-e-Islami]] (JeI) || 11 || 1 || 6 || 3 || 0 || 63 || 0 || 3 
|- 
|[[Independent (politician)|Independents]]\[[Pakistani political parties|Others]] ** || 8 || 38 || 30 || 42 || 28 || 36 || 21 ||28
|-
!Government 
|-
|Government after election || [[1977 Pakistani coup d'état|ML]]  || PPP   || PML (N) || PPP || PML (N) ||  PML (Q) || PPP || PML (N)
|-
!Total Seats
|-
| Total seats in [[Parliament of Pakistan|State Parliament]] || 200 || 207  || 207  || 207  || 207 ||  342 ||  340 || 342
|-
!Voter turnout
|-
| Estimated election voter turnout || 63.1%  || 43.07% || 45.46% || 40.28% || 35.42% || 41.08% ||44.23% || 55.02%
|}
All data and calculations are provided by [[Election Commission of Pakistan]] as the public domain. All elections were contested under a separate electorate system, the 1990 elections had allegations of vote-rigging confirmed by foreign observers.<ref>For more information, see "How an election was stolen" The [[Pakistan Democratic Alliance]] White paper on the Pakistan elections held in 1990. It was published by the weekly '[[MID Asia]]', [[Islamabad]], 1991.</ref> The 'MQM' contested the 1988 elections under the name ''Muhajir Qaumi Mahaz'', it boycotted the [[1993 Pakistani general election|1993 National elections]].<ref>source Herald Election Guide/October 2002 p38</ref>

====2008 General Elections====
{{main|2008 Pakistani general election}}
This election led to strong showings for the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N), who signed the [[Bhurban Accord]] in response to the election results. The election was held in Pakistan on 18 February 2008, after being postponed from 8 January, the original date was intended to elect members of the National Assembly of Pakistan, the lower house of the Majlis-e-Shoora (the nation's parliament). Pakistan's two main opposition parties, the PPP and the PML (N) won the majority of seats in the election. The PPP and PML (N) formed the new coalition government with [[Yousaf Raza Gillani]] as Prime Minister of Pakistan. Following the election, [[Pervez Musharraf]] acknowledged that the process had been free and fair. He conceded the defeat of the PML (Q) and pledged to work with the new Parliament. The voter turnout for the election was 35,170,435 people (44%). By-elections for 28 seats (23 provincial and 5 national) have been delayed numerous times, with most of them now held on being 26 June 2008.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
!Parties
!Votes
!%
!Elected seats
!Reserved seats (women)
!Reserved seats (minorities)
!Total
!Percentile
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Pakistan Peoples Party]]
|10,606,486
|30.6%
|97
|23
|4
|124
|{{Composition bar|124|340|hex=red}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]]
|6,781,445
|19.6%
|71
|17
|3
|91
|{{Composition bar|91|340|hex=#008000}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Pakistan Muslim League (Q)]]
|7,989,817
|23.0%
|42
|10
|2
|54
|{{Composition bar|54|340|hex=#00FF00}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan|Muttahida Qaumi Movement]]
|2,507,813
|7.4%
|19
|5
|1
|25
|{{Composition bar|25|340|hex=orange}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Awami National Party]]
|700,479
|2.0%
|10
|3
|0
|13
||{{Composition bar|13|340|hex=red}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal|Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan]]
*[[Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam|Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F)]]
|772,798
|2.2%
|6
|1
|0
|7
|{{Composition bar|7|340|hex=#009000}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Pakistan Muslim League (F)]]
|
|
|4
|1
|0
|5
|{{Composition bar|5|340|hex=#00A550}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Pakistan Peoples Party (Sherpao)]]
|140,707
|0.4%
|1
|0
|0
|1
|{{Composition bar|1|340|hex=#BA160C}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[National Peoples Party (Pakistan)|National Peoples Party]]
|
|
|1
|0
|0
|1
|{{Composition bar|1|340|hex=#0000CD}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Balochistan National Party (Awami)]]
|
|
|1
|0
|0
|1
|{{Composition bar|1|340|hex=blue}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Independents
|
|
|18
|0
|0
|18
|{{Composition bar|18|340|hex=#536872}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|'''Total''' (turnout 44%)
<small>'''Note: [[Tehreek-e-Insaf]], [[Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan|Jamaat-e-Islami]], [[Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan]], [[Tehrik-e-Jafaria Pakistan]] and [[Jamiat Ahle Hadith]] [[Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party]] did not participate.'''</small>
|'''34,665,978'''
|'''100%'''
|'''270'''
|'''60'''
|'''10'''
|'''340'''
|-
| colspan="7" style="text-align:left;"|Source: [http://www.ecp.gov.pk/NAPosition.pdf Election Commission of Pakistan], [https://electionpakistan.com/parties-wise-election-results/?assembly=5&election=2 Election Pakistan: 2008 General Elections] [http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/p/pakistan/pakistan2008.txt Adam Carr's Electoral Archive]
|}

====Pakistani general election, 2013====
{{further|Pakistani general election, 2013}}

===History of Presidential elections: 1956 to 2013===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Presidential elections since 1956
|-
! Political parties !!  [[1956 Pakistani presidential elections|1956]] !! [[1965 Pakistani presidential election|1965]] 
|-
|[[Republican Party (Pakistan)|Republican Party]] (RP) ||200<ref name="A.P.H. Publishing Corporation"/>  ||0  ||
|-
|[[Pakistan Muslim League]] (PML) ||10 ||120<ref name=Overview>{{cite web|title=General Elections 1965|url=http://magazine.thenews.com.pk/mag/detail_article.asp?id=5213&magId=9|publisher=Overview|access-date=24 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051703/http://magazine.thenews.com.pk/mag/detail_article.asp?id=5213&magId=9|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>  ||
|-
|[[Movement for the Restoration of Democracy|Combined Opposition Party]] (COP) ||4 ||15<ref name=Overview />  ||
|-
|[[Pakistan Democratic Party|National Democratic Front]] || 0 || 5 ||
|-
![[Electoral College (Pakistan)|Electoral College]]
|-
| Total Votes  ||309<ref name="A.P.H. Publishing Corporation"/>  ||190|| 
|-
!Presidency
|-
|President after election ||[[Iskandar Ali Mirza|IA Mirza]] || [[Ayub Khan (Field Marshal)|A. Khan]]|| 
|-
![[Voter turnout]] 
| ||64%<ref name="A.P.H. Publishing Corporation">{{cite book|last=Ahmed|first=Salahuddin|title=Bangladesh : past and present|year=2003|publisher=A.P.H. Publishing Corporation|location=New Delhi|isbn=8176484695|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Szfqq7ruqWgC&pg=PA157 }}</ref>   ||
|-
!Political Party 
|RP || PML|| 
|}

Promulgation of [[Constitution of Pakistan of 1956|1956 constitution]], [[Iskandar Ali Mirza]] became first [[President of Pakistan]]; he was also noted of being the first [[East Pakistani|East-Pakistani]] [[Bengali people|Bengali]] [[president of Pakistan]]. In an [[indirect election]]s, the electors of the [[Awami League]] voted for Mirza's bid for presidency in 1956. Wanting a controlled democracy, President Mirza dismissed four prime ministers in less than two years and his, position in the country was quickly deteriorated amid his actions. In 1958, Mirza imposed the [[1958 Pakistani coup d'état|martial law]] under its enforcer General, [[Ayub Khan (Field Marshal)|Ayub Khan]], but was also dismissed the same year. Assuming the presidency in 1958, Ayub Khan introduced a "System of Basic Democracy" which means that "the voters delegate their rights to choose the president and the members of the national and provincial assemblies to 80,000 representatives called Basic Democrats."<ref>http://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/studies/PDF-FILES/Artical%20-%205.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

Under this system, the first direct presidential election was held on 2 January 1965. Some 80,000 'basic democrats', as members of urban and regional councils, caucused to vote. There were two main contestants: the [[Pakistan Muslim League]] led by President [[Ayub Khan (Field Marshal)|Ayub Khan]] and the Combined Opposition Parties (COP) under the leadership of [[Fatima Jinnah]]. In this highly controversial election with the means of using the state machinery to [[Vote rigging|rigging]] the votes, the PML secured a thumping majority of 120 seats while the opposition could clinch only 15 seats. [[Fatima Jinnah]]'s Combined Opposition Party (COP) only secured 10 seats whereas the NDF won 5 seats in East Pakistan and 1 in West Pakistan. The rest of the seats went to the independents.

Witnessing the events in 1965, the new drafted constitution created the [[Electoral College of Pakistan|Electoral College]] system, making the president as mere figurehead. In 1973, [[Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry]] became the first president from the PPP in an indirect polling.<ref name="Fazal Ilahi becomes President" /> With the [[Operation Fair Play|martial law]] rem[[Operation Fair Play|ing]] ned effective from 1977 till 1988, civil servant [[Ghulam Ishaq Khan]] ran for the presidency on a PPP ticket in a deal to support [[Benazir Bhutto]] for presidency.<ref name="Ghulam Ishaq Khan becomes President" /> With [[Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan|special powers]] granted to President GI Khan, he dismissed two elected governm[[Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan|s]] ent duri[[Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan|the]] ng peri[[Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan|of]] od 1990 and 1993; he too was forced out from the office the same year.<ref name="Ghulam Ishaq Khan becomes President" /> After the [[1993 Pakistani general election|1993 general election]], the PPP nominated [[Farooq Leghari]] who soon secured majority votes in the parliament.<ref name="Sardar Farooq Legahri Becomes President" /> Originally elected for five-year term, Leghari was forced resigned from the presidency after forcing out [[Benazir Bhutto]] from the government in 1996. In [[1997 Pakistani general election|1997 general election]], [[Nawaz Sharif]] called for fresh presidential elections and nominated [[Rafiq Tarar]] for the presidency.<ref name="Muhammad Rafiq Tarar elected as President" /> In an [[indirect election]], Tarar received heavy votes from the electors of [[Electoral College of Pakistan|Electoral College]], becoming the first president from the PML (N).<ref name="Muhammad Rafiq Tarar elected as President" /> In 1999 [[1999 Pakistani coup d'état|martial law]] against Sharif, Musharraf appointed himself President in 2001.<ref name="Musharraf becomes President">{{cite web|title=Musharraf becomes President|date=21 February 2004|url=http://storyofpakistan.com/pervez-musharraf-becomes-president/|publisher=Musharraf becomes President|access-date=24 May 2013}}</ref> In 2004, he secured his reappointment for the presidency; though the [[Alliance for Restoration of Democracy|opposition]] and [[Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal|religious alliance]] boycotted the elections.<ref name="Musharraf becomes President"/> In 2007, Musharraf again restored his appointment after the [[Alliance for Restoration of Democracy|opposition parties]] also boycotted the elections. As Musharraf was forced out from power, [[Asif Zardari]] of PPP became president after a close [[2008 Pakistani presidential election|presidential elections]] in 2008.<ref name="Musharraf becomes President"/> The [[2013 Pakistani general election|Pakistani general election of 2013]] were held on 11 May 2013. [[Electricity sector in Pakistan|Problems with providing electricity]] was one of the major issues with the winning candidate, [[Nawaz Sharif]], promising to reform electrical service and provide reliable service.<ref name=NYT52713>{{cite news|title=Pakistan Faces Struggle to Keep Its Lights On|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/world/asia/pakistan-electricity-shortages-reach-crisis-stage.html|access-date=May 28, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 27, 2013|author=Declan Walsh|author2=Salman Masood}}</ref> [[Mamnoon Hussain]] won this election.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Political parties performances in Presidential elections since 1971
|-
! Political parties !!  [[1973 Pakistani presidential election|1973]] !! [[1988 Pakistani presidential election|1988]] !! [[1993 Pakistani presidential election|1993]] !! [[1997 Pakistani presidential election|1997]] !! [[2004 Pakistani presidential election|2004]] !!  [[2007 Pakistani presidential election|2007]]  !! [[2004 Pakistani presidential election|2008]] !! [[2013 Pakistani presidential election|2013]] !! [[2018 Pakistani presidential election|2018]]
|-
|[[Pakistan Peoples Party]] (PPP)|| 451<ref name="Fazal Ilahi becomes President"/> || 608<ref name="Ghulam Ishaq Khan becomes President"/> || 274<ref name="Sardar Farooq Legahri Becomes President">{{cite web|title=Sardar Farooq Legahri Becomes President|date=June 2003|url=http://storyofpakistan.com/sardar-farooq-legahri-becomes-president/|publisher=Sardar Farooq Legahri Becomes President|access-date=23 May 2013}}</ref>  || 31<ref name="Muhammad Rafiq Tarar elected as President"/> || [[Election boycott|EB]] ||[[Election boycott|EB]] || 481 ||[[Election boycott|EB]]|| 124
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|[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]] (PML (N))|| – || –  || 168<ref name="Sardar Farooq Legahri Becomes President"/> || 374<ref name="Muhammad Rafiq Tarar elected as President">{{cite web|title=Muhammad Rafiq Tarar elected as President|date=June 2003|url=http://storyofpakistan.com/muhammad-rafiq-tarar-elected-as-president/|publisher=Muhammad Rafiq Tarar elected as President|access-date=23 May 2013}}</ref>  || [[Election boycott|EB]] || [[Election boycott|EB]] || 153 ||432||
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|[[Pakistan Muslim League (Q)|Pakistan Muslim League(Q)]] (PML (Q)) ||–  || 0|| 0 || 0 ||658 ||671 || 44 || – ||
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|[[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf]] (PTI) || – || - || - || - || - || - || - || 77 || 352
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![[Electoral College (Pakistan)|Electoral College]]
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| Total [[Electoral College (Pakistan)|Electoral College]] || 457  || 700   ||442  || 457  || 1,170 ||1,170   || 700 || 706 || 679
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!Presidency
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|President after election ||[[Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry|FI Chaudhy]] || [[Ghulam Ishaq Khan|GI Khan]] || [[Farooq Leghari|F .Leghari]] || [[Rafiq Tarar|R. Tarrar]] || [[Pervez Musharraf|P.Musharraf]] ||P.Musharraf || [[Asif Zardari|A.Zardari]] ||[[Mamnoon Hussain|M.Hussain]] || [[Arif Alvi]]
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!Political Party 
|PPP || PPP || PPP || PML (N) || PML (Q) ||  PML (Q) || PPP ||PML (N)|| PTI
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![[Figurehead]] || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes || No || No ||Yes ||Yes|| Yes 
|}

[[Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry]] became president in 1973 with PPP's support in four provinces.<ref name="Fazal Ilahi becomes President">{{cite news|title=Fazal Ilahi becomes President|url=http://storyofpakistan.com/fazal-ilahi-becomes-president/|access-date=23 May 2013|newspaper=Fazal Ilahi becomes President}}</ref> [[Ghulam Ishaq Khan|GI Khan]] was candidate of PPP in return of supporting [[Benazir Bhutto]] in 1988.<ref name="Ghulam Ishaq Khan becomes President">{{cite web|title=Ghulam Ishaq Khan becomes President|date=June 2003|url=http://storyofpakistan.com/ghulam-ishaq-khan-becomes-president/|publisher=Ghulam Ishaq Khan becomes President|access-date=23 May 2013}}</ref> Pervez Musharraf gained political support from PML (Q) as their president in 2004 and 2007; both elections were controversial as leading parties PPP and PML (N) boycotted the elections.