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1977 Pakistani general election
General elections were held in Pakistan on 7 March 1977 to elect 200 members of the National Assembly. They were the second general elections held in Pakistan and the first to be held after the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Although the elections were initially scheduled to be held in the second half of 1977 after the completion of the National Assembly's parliamentary term, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto decided to hold the elections earlier. As the majority of general public had a favourable opinion of Bhutto government, it was widely anticipated that the PPP would be re-elected. In response, nine opposition parties united together to form the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). The PNA ran on a right-wing platform, opposing the PPP's left-wing stance. However, the PNA also consisted of some left-wing parties that opposed Bhutto, including the National Awami Party of Khan Abdul Wali Khan, who was also regarded as the leader of the PNA.
The result was a landslide victory for the PPP, which won 155 seats. Meanwhile, the PNA won only 36 seats; the Pakistan Muslim League (Qayyum) was the only other party to win a seat. The PPP's victory meant Bhutto would continue as Prime Minister. However, the PNA accused the PPP of rigging the elections, and refused to accept the result. Although allegations of rigging were denied by PPP, the claims made by PNA sparked unrest that resulted in mass demonstrations and violent anti-Bhutto protests. Bhutto and the security forces were unable to control the situation. The Chief of Army Staff Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq subsequently called a secret meeting of senior military officials to plan a coup, which was successfully executed, resulting in the overthrow of government and dissolution of the National Assembly. Subsequently, Pakistan entered its third period of military rule.
The elections were held earlier than originally planned, and were expected to be held in the second half of 1977. However, on 7 January 1977, Bhutto appeared on national television, announcing the elections would be held earlier, and started his political campaign shortly after appearing on national television. On 10 January, Election Commissioner of Pakistan Justice Sajjad Ahmad Jan announced the election schedule and declared 19 and 22 January as the last date for receipt of nominations for the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies, respectively.
Bhutto responded aggressively, immediately issuing party tickets to his workers. Unlike the 1970 elections, when Pakistan Peoples Party mainly banked on socialist slogans, this time Bhutto also relied on political heavyweights, issuing tickets to feudal lords and other influential members. Bhutto himself held public meetings all over the country, and to get further support from the common man, he announced labour reforms on 4 January, and on 5 January, a second set of land reforms. The attendance in the public meetings was amazing in all parts of the country, especially in interior Sindh and Punjab. Bhutto's motives for holding elections earlier was that not to give sufficient time to the opposition to make decisions and arrangements for the forthcoming elections.
The PNA had become a big problem for Pakistan Peoples Party that was targeting Peoples Party on a number of occasions. Throughout the elections, the PNA failed to justify their plans for the country but instead targeted the Peoples' Party, concentrating on misdeed, alleged corruptions (although there were no evidences that linked to Bhutto), financial mismanagement, heavy expenditures on administration and disastrous economic policies evidenced by inflation.
The Election Commission entered the registry of 30,899,052 voters, commissioned two hundred and fifty five Returning officers (RO) to manage voting system of the polling offices established in entire country.
On 7 March 1977 the Election Commission announced the result in which Pakistan Peoples Party won the largest landslide victory in Pakistan's electoral history, winning 155 out of 200 seats in the Parliament. The Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) secured only 36 seats and eight seats on each of province's legislative assemblies, but the PNA had not contested all the seats, with some parties boycotting elections in parts of the country. The PNA failed to secure any seats from industrial cities such as Lahore. In Karachi, 80% of seats were secured. A similar outcome was seen in Rawalpindi, where the PNA had arranged a massive demonstration and big public gatherings and processions. These results were in stark contrast to the widespread predictions that although Bhutto would win the election, but not by a wide margin that the results suggested.
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1977 Pakistani general election
General elections were held in Pakistan on 7 March 1977 to elect 200 members of the National Assembly. They were the second general elections held in Pakistan and the first to be held after the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Although the elections were initially scheduled to be held in the second half of 1977 after the completion of the National Assembly's parliamentary term, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto decided to hold the elections earlier. As the majority of general public had a favourable opinion of Bhutto government, it was widely anticipated that the PPP would be re-elected. In response, nine opposition parties united together to form the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). The PNA ran on a right-wing platform, opposing the PPP's left-wing stance. However, the PNA also consisted of some left-wing parties that opposed Bhutto, including the National Awami Party of Khan Abdul Wali Khan, who was also regarded as the leader of the PNA.
The result was a landslide victory for the PPP, which won 155 seats. Meanwhile, the PNA won only 36 seats; the Pakistan Muslim League (Qayyum) was the only other party to win a seat. The PPP's victory meant Bhutto would continue as Prime Minister. However, the PNA accused the PPP of rigging the elections, and refused to accept the result. Although allegations of rigging were denied by PPP, the claims made by PNA sparked unrest that resulted in mass demonstrations and violent anti-Bhutto protests. Bhutto and the security forces were unable to control the situation. The Chief of Army Staff Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq subsequently called a secret meeting of senior military officials to plan a coup, which was successfully executed, resulting in the overthrow of government and dissolution of the National Assembly. Subsequently, Pakistan entered its third period of military rule.
The elections were held earlier than originally planned, and were expected to be held in the second half of 1977. However, on 7 January 1977, Bhutto appeared on national television, announcing the elections would be held earlier, and started his political campaign shortly after appearing on national television. On 10 January, Election Commissioner of Pakistan Justice Sajjad Ahmad Jan announced the election schedule and declared 19 and 22 January as the last date for receipt of nominations for the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies, respectively.
Bhutto responded aggressively, immediately issuing party tickets to his workers. Unlike the 1970 elections, when Pakistan Peoples Party mainly banked on socialist slogans, this time Bhutto also relied on political heavyweights, issuing tickets to feudal lords and other influential members. Bhutto himself held public meetings all over the country, and to get further support from the common man, he announced labour reforms on 4 January, and on 5 January, a second set of land reforms. The attendance in the public meetings was amazing in all parts of the country, especially in interior Sindh and Punjab. Bhutto's motives for holding elections earlier was that not to give sufficient time to the opposition to make decisions and arrangements for the forthcoming elections.
The PNA had become a big problem for Pakistan Peoples Party that was targeting Peoples Party on a number of occasions. Throughout the elections, the PNA failed to justify their plans for the country but instead targeted the Peoples' Party, concentrating on misdeed, alleged corruptions (although there were no evidences that linked to Bhutto), financial mismanagement, heavy expenditures on administration and disastrous economic policies evidenced by inflation.
The Election Commission entered the registry of 30,899,052 voters, commissioned two hundred and fifty five Returning officers (RO) to manage voting system of the polling offices established in entire country.
On 7 March 1977 the Election Commission announced the result in which Pakistan Peoples Party won the largest landslide victory in Pakistan's electoral history, winning 155 out of 200 seats in the Parliament. The Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) secured only 36 seats and eight seats on each of province's legislative assemblies, but the PNA had not contested all the seats, with some parties boycotting elections in parts of the country. The PNA failed to secure any seats from industrial cities such as Lahore. In Karachi, 80% of seats were secured. A similar outcome was seen in Rawalpindi, where the PNA had arranged a massive demonstration and big public gatherings and processions. These results were in stark contrast to the widespread predictions that although Bhutto would win the election, but not by a wide margin that the results suggested.