Editing Elections in Pakistan (section)

==Levels of elections==

===Parliamentary elections===

====Assemblies elections====

Pakistan has a [[parliamentary system]] in which, the [[Prime Minister of Pakistan|executive]] and [[Parliament of Pakistan|legislature]] are elected directly by public voting in [[Constituencies of Pakistan|constituencies]] on a first-past-the-post system through a secret ballot. Article 222–229 of the [[Constitution of Pakistan]] forbids the candidate from joining the membership of [[National Assembly (Pakistan)|National Assembly]] and the provincial assemblies simultaneously. In direct elections, a candidate who obtains the highest number of votes in a constituency, is declared elected as a member of the [[National Assembly of Pakistan|National Assembly]] or a provincial assembly.

The seats in the [[National Assembly]] are allocated to each of four provinces, the [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas|FATA]] and the federal capital on the basis of population in accordance with the last officially published census. Members to the seats reserved for women and non-Muslims, are elected in accordance with the law through the proportional representation system of political party's lists of candidates on the basis of total number of general seats secured by each political party in the National Assembly or a provincial assembly. The National Assembly has 342 seats, usually elected for five year terms; however, if the National Assembly is dissolved, a general elections must be called within ninety days, according to the constitution.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Composition of National Assembly 
|-
! National Assembly seats from provinces !! General seats !! Seats for [[Women in Pakistan|women]] !! Total seats 
|-
|[[Punjab Province (Pakistan)|Punjab]]||  257 	||35 || 183
|-
|[[Sindh Province|Sindh]] || 79 || 14 || 75
|-
|[[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province|Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] ||469 || 8 || 43 
|- 
|[[Balochistan Province|Balochistan]]  || 789 || 3 || 17
|- 
!National Assembly seats from [[Territories of Pakistan|territories]] 
|-
|[[Federally Administered Tribal Areas]] ||15 || — || 12
|-
| [[Islamabad Capital Territory]] ||5 || — || 2
|-
!Specified seats || Reserved seats for minorities 
|-
|Seats for [[Religion in Pakistan|non-Muslims]] ||17 || — || 10
|-
!Composition !! Total general seats !! Total seats for women !! Total seats
|-
| Total seats in NA || '''272'''   ||'''60'''  ||'''342''' 
|}

====Senate elections====

The Senate consists of 104 members, of whom 14 members are elected by each provincial assembly, eight members are elected from [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas|FATA]] by members of National Assembly from these areas, two members (one woman and one technocrat) are elected from the federal capital also by members of National Asand sembly; four women and four technocrats are elected by members of each provincial assembly. One seat in the Senate is reserved for minorities in each province.

It is the responsibility of the Chief Election Commissioner to hold and make arrangements for the Senate elections in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote through electoral colleges. The term of the members of the Senate is 6 years. However, the term of the first group of the senators, who shall retire after completion of first 3 years of the Senate, is determined by drawing of lots by the Chief Election Commission.

===Presidential elections===

The [[President (government title)|president]] of [[Pakistan]] is elected through presidential elections. In an [[indirect election]], the winner is determined by votes cast by the electors of the [[Electoral College (Pakistan)|Electoral College]]. The Electoral College is composed of elected [[Pakistan Senate|senators]], members of the [[National Assembly]], and provincial assemblies. The president is a ceremonial post, [[head of state]], and merely a [[figurehead]] with the [[Chief Executive|executive powers]] granted to the [[Prime Minister of Pakistan|prime minister]], by the Constitution. The [[Constitution]] grants both men and women the right to run for presidency. However it states that a presidential candidate must be a [[Muslim]] and not less than 45 years of age. The president is elected for a term of 5 years.

It is the duty of the Chief Election Commissioner to conduct elections for the office of the president in a special session of the Parliament and all the provincial assemblies in accordance with the provisions of Second Schedule of the Constitution.

===Local government elections===
To decentralize administrative and financial authority, ensuring accountability to local governments for good governance, effective service delivery, and transparent decision-making through institutionalized participation at the grassroots level, elections to local government institutions are held every four years on a non-party basis by the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan.

Members of the Union Council, including the Union Administrator and Vice Union Administrator, are elected through direct elections based on adult franchise and a joint electorate. However, for the election of reserved seats for women in the Zila Council, proportionately divided among Tehsils or Towns, all members of the Union Councils in a Tehsil or Town shall be elected. It is the responsibility of the Chief Election Commissioner to organize and conduct these elections.

The first local government election was held in 1959 under the dictatorship of Ayub Khan. The second local government election was held in 1979 under the dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq. The third local government election was held after the coup tenure of Pervez Musharraf in 2000. Finally, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, local body elections were held on December 7, 2013. Balochistan was the first province where these polls were held. Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were all set to conduct the polls. These elections were held due to the immense pressure from the newly emerging political power of PTI on the central government of PML-N.

===Zimni elections (by-elections)===
By-elections (in Urdu call, Zimni elections) are held due to fill the vacant seat due to resignation, disqualification or death of a respective person. [[Election Commission of Pakistan]] is hosting zimni elections since It was founded.

==== 2013 by-election ====
{{Main|2013 Pakistani by-elections}}{{Expand section|date=June 2024}}

==== July 2022 Punjab provincial by-election ====
{{Main|July 2022 Punjab provincial by-election}}
175 Candidates from across Punjab contested in these by-elections. 3,131 Polling Stations were created in 20 Constituencies out of which 731 were for men, 700 for women, and 1700 were combined polling stations. The ECP has declared 1304 polling stations sensitive and 690 highly sensitive. Polling stations from Lahore (4 Seats) and Multan (1 Seat) have been declared sensitive.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Desk |first=BR Web |date=2022-07-17 |title=Punjab by-elections: Voting underway to decide fate of 175 candidates |url=https://www.brecorder.com/news/40186383 |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=Brecorder |language=en}}</ref>

==== Results ====

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Party
! colspan="2" |Votes
! colspan="4" |Seats 
|-
!No.
!%
!Contested
!Lead
!Won
!'''+/−'''
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf}}" |
|[[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf]]
|1,1634,526
|46.8
|20
|12,589,300 
|15
|
|-
| bgcolor="{{party color|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}" | 
|[[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]]
|0.9
|0.0
|0
|0
|0
|
|-
| bgcolor=#a6caf0 |
|Others & Independents
|TBD
|12.7
|135
|0
|1
|
|-
| bgcolor=white |
|Invalid/Rejected
|TBD
|TBD
|
|
|
|
|- class="sortbottom"
| bgcolor="{{party color|None of the Above}}" |
|Total
|'''1,834,894'''
|'''100'''
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|Registered voters/Turnout
|'''4,579,898'''
|'''46.96'''
| colspan="4" |
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="8" |Source:ECP<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://twitter.com/ecp_pakistan/status/1547948009685598208/photo/3 |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref>
|}
''Read more at'' [[Zimni elections in Pakistan]]