General elections are scheduled to be held in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

on 8 February 2024 to elect the members of the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. The detailed schedule was announced by

Election Commission of Pakistan The Election Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ; ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, l ...

on 15 December 2023. The two major parties are

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Teh ...

(PML-N), led by former Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

and

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

(PPP), led by former

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Bilawal Bhutto Zardari ( ur, بلاول بھٹو زرداری; born 21 September 1988) is a Pakistani politician who is serving as the 37th Minister of Foreign Affairs, in office since 27 April 2022. He became the chairman of Pakistan Peopl ...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...

, the largest party in the previous elections, is fielding its candidates as Independents after a controversial Supreme Court ruling stripped them of their electoral symbol in the run-up to the elections.

Background

2018 elections

General elections were held in

on Wednesday 25 July 2018 after the completion of a five-year term by the outgoing government. At the national level, elections were held in 272 constituencies, each electing one member to the

. At the provincial level, elections were held in each of the four provinces to elect Members of the Provincial Assemblies (MPA). As a result of the elections, the

(PTI) became the single largest party at the national level both in terms of both popular vote and seats. At the provincial level, the PTI remained the largest party in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

(KP); the

(PPP) remained the largest party in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

and the newly-formed

Balochistan Awami Party The Balochistan Awami Party ( ur, , lit=Balochistan People's Party) is a political party based in the Balochistan province of Pakistan founded in 2018 by political dissidents of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in ...

(BAP) became the largest party in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

. In

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, a hung parliament prevailed with

(PML-N) emerging as the largest party in terms of directly elected seats by a narrow margin. However, following the support of

Pakistan Muslim League (Q) The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative nationalist political party in Pakistan. As of the 2018 parliamentary election, it has a re ...

and the joining of

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

MPAs into the PTI, the latter became the largest party and was able to form the government.

2022 constitutional crisis

On 8 March 2022, the opposition parties submitted a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

against Khan to the

's secretariat. On 27 March 2022, Khan waved a diplomatic cypher from US in the public, claiming that it demands to remove Khan's government in a coup. Though, later he changed his stance about the US conspiracy against his government. On 1 April 2022, Prime Minister Khan announced that in context of the no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly, the three options were discussed with "

establishment Establishment may refer to: * The Establishment, a dominant group or elite that controls a polity or an organization * The Establishment (club), a 1960s club in London, England * The Establishment (Pakistan), political terminology for the military ...

" to choose from viz: "resignation, no-confidence

ote OTE is the national telecommunications provider of Greece. OTE may also refer to: * Ocean thermal energy conversion, a renewable energy source * Oda of Haldensleben (978–1023), daughter of the Margrave of the North March, Theoderich * On-ta ...

or elections". On 3 April 2022,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi (; born 29 July 1949) is a Pakistani dentist and politician currently serving as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office since 9 September 2018. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2 ...

dissolved the National Assembly of Pakistan on Khan's advice, after the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly rejected and set-aside the motion of no confidence; this move would have required elections to the National Assembly to be held within 90 days. On 10 April, after a Supreme Court ruling that the no-confidence motion was illegally rejected, a no-confidence vote was conducted and he was ousted from office, becoming the first prime minister in Pakistan to be removed from office by a vote of no confidence. Khan claimed the US was behind his removal because he conducted an independent foreign policy and had friendly relations with China and Russia. His removal led to protests from his supporters across Pakistan.

Schedule controversy

The general elections were supposed to be held in

less than 90 days after the dissolution of the

, which was prematurely dissolved on 10 August 2023 by

on the advice of the Prime Minister

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president of ...

. This meant that the election must be held not later than 8 November 2023. However, on 5 August 2023, the results of the 2023 digital census were approved by the

Council of Common Interests The Council of Common Interests (CCI) ( ur, ) is a constitutional body in the Government of Pakistan. It is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The CCI resolves the disputes of power sharing between the federation and ...

headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Therefore, elections were to be delayed to February 2024 at the latest, as announced by the

(ECP). However, on 13 September 2023, President Alvi proposed 6 November 2023 as a date to the ECP and advised it to seek guidance from the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

for the announcement of the election date. On 2 November 2023, the ECP and the President agreed on 8 February 2024 as the date for the general election.

Return of Nawaz Sharif to electoral politics

At the start of May 2023, the PDM government adopted a law that allows for filing of review petitions against prior Supreme Court verdicts. At the end of June, another law, limiting disqualification to five years, was adopted. It also allows the electoral commission to announce the date of an election without consulting the President of the country. After serving 12 months of his 7-year sentence on corruption charges, former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif had left the country on 19 November 2019 for receiving medical treatment in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, promising to return in 4 weeks. He was declared a fugitive in 2021 after failing to appear before courts despite summons. Sharif obtained protective bail on 19 October 2023, which allowed him to return from 4 years of self-imposed exile without being arrested. On October 21, he returned to the country where he was welcomed in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

by a gathering of tens of thousands of his supporters. On 9 January 2024, a 7-member Supreme Court bench under Chief Justice

Qazi Faez Isa Qazi Faez Isa ( ur, , born 26 October 1959) is a justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 5 September 2014. Previously, he served as Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court from 5 August 2009 to 5 September 2014. Early life and educ ...

, hearing a review petition against lifetime disqualification, announced a 6-1 majority verdict with Justice Yahya Afridi dissenting. The verdict set aside the earlier Supreme Court interpretation of lifetime disqualification for the article 62(1)(f) of the constitution, stating that it violated fundamental rights, and instead set a 5-year disqualification in accordance with the newly passed laws for lawmakers who fail the moral standard of ''“sadiq and ameen”'' (honest and righteous). The timing of the verdict ensured that Sharif, who was disqualified for life in the ''

Panama Papers case The Panama Papers case (officially titled ''Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi v. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif''), or the Panamagate case, was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan that disqualified incumbent Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz ...

'' in 2017, is eligible to contest these elections with a possible fourth term as prime minister.

PTI de facto ban through intra-party election verdict

On 22 December 2023, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decided against allowing the PTI to keep its electoral symbol, asserting that the party had failed to conduct intra-party elections to the Commission's satisfaction. Subsequently, on the same day, the PTI appealed to the

Peshawar High Court The Peshawar High Court ( ur, ) is the highest judicial institution of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It is located in the provincial capital Peshawar. The Parliament passed a bill extending the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court (SC) and the Peshawar High ...

(PHC) challenging the ECP's decision. Consequently, a single-member bench suspended the ECP's order until 9 January 2024. On 30 December 2023, the ECP submitted a review application to the PHC. In the following days, a two-member bench lifted the suspension order while hearing the case. However, on 10 January 2024, the two-member bench deemed the ECP's order "illegal, without any lawful authority, and of no legal effect." Responding to this, on 11 January, the ECP contested the ruling in the

. On 13 January, a three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Isa, sided with the ECP, reinstating their initial decision to deny the PTI its election symbol, the

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

bat, due to the party's failure to conduct intra-party elections in accordance with its constitution. Consequently, the PTI was unable to allocate party tickets to any of its candidates, resulting in all party candidates being listed as

independent candidates An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

with individual electoral symbols. The party also lost the right to nominate candidates for 226

reserved seats Several politico-constitutional arrangements use reserved political positions, especially when endeavoring to ensure the rights of women, minorities or other segments of society, or preserving a political balance of power. These arrangements can ...

across the central and provincial legislatures. The SCP's decision led some legal experts to describe the ruling as a "huge blow to fundamental rights" and "a defeat for democratic norms."

Allegations of pre-poll rigging

Some observers, including the

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ) (HRCP) is an independent, democratic non-profit organisation. Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest human rights organisations in the country. HRCP is committed to monitoring, protecting a ...

, have pointed to what appears to be pre-poll rigging in the run-up to the upcoming elections. There have been notable actions against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its leaders, including snatching of nomination papers, arbitrary arrests of candidates and their supporters, and systematic rejection of nomination papers. This situation has led to widespread allegations of 'election engineering' and manipulative practices that could potentially favor certain political groups, casting doubts over the fairness of the electoral process. On 26 January 2024, PTI's official website and a separate website made for disseminating information regarding the individual electoral symbols of the party's candidates were blocked in Pakistan. Previously, social media was blocked in the country during the party's virtual electoral events on at least 3 separate occasions as per internet watchdog,

Netblocks NetBlocks is a watchdog organization that monitors cybersecurity and the governance of the Internet. The service was launched in 2017 to monitor Internet freedom. Work Projects NetBlocks publishes original reporting on Internet governance ...

. Journalists covering the elections reported a 'near-blanket ban' on their ability to cover PTI candidates fairly. News channels allegedly received messages from individuals belonging to Pakistan's military establishment instructing them to remove all references to PTI in their visuals, graphics, and talking points.

Schedule

The schedule of the election was announced by the

on 15 December 2023.

Electoral system

The 336 members of the

consist of 266 general seats elected by

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

in single-member constituencies, 60 seats reserved for women elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

based on the number of general seats won by each party in each province, and ten seats reserved for non-Muslims elected through proportional representation based on the number of overall general seats won by each party. The

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

had passed a bill that required the next general elections to be held using EVMs (electronic voting machines). This was aimed at bringing an end to the allegations of rigging that have plagued previous elections in Pakistan, but the opposition's opinion was that it would make it extremely easy for PTI to rig the elections in their favour through security loopholes. In 2022 when the PTI-led government was ousted through a successful

vote of no-confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

in the National Assembly, the 11 opposition parties, some of them being long-time rivals, formed a new government and passed the Elections Amendment Bill, which nullified the use of EVMs in the next general elections. Hence, EVMs will not be used in next general elections.

Timeline

In July 2023 the ECP invited

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

to submit applications for the allocation of

electoral symbol An electoral symbol is a standardised symbol allocated to an independent candidate or political party by a country's election commission for use in election ballots. Usage Symbols are used by parties in their campaigning, and printed on ballot p ...

s. As of 25 July 2023, the total number of

registered voter In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...

s in Pakistan stood around 127 million as compared to 106 million (including 59.22 million men and 46.73 million women voters) in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, according to the data released by the ECP. According to the figures, the number of eligible female voters stood at 58.5 million (around 46 percent of the total registered voters) while the number of eligible male voters was 68.5 million (about 54 percent of the total voters). In late September the ECP announced that the citizens over 18 can update their voter details until 25 October 2023. The ECP decided to “unfreeze” the

electoral roll An electoral roll (variously called an electoral register, voters roll, poll book or other description) is a compilation that lists persons who are entitled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The list is usually broke ...

s to allow registered voters to rectify or update their details. On 2 November 2023, President

and the ECP came to an agreement on holding general elections on 8 February, after a meeting was held in

Aiwan-i-Sadr The Aiwan-e-Sadr ( ur, ), or Presidential Palace, is the official residence and workplace of the President of Pakistan. It is located in northeastern Islamabad on Constitution Avenue, between the Parliament Building and the Cabinet block of t ...

on the orders of the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

(SCP). The SCP had instructed the ECP to consult with the President on the poll date. On 15 December 2023, the Election Commission of Pakistan issued the election schedule. 22 December 2023 was set as the last date for filing nomination papers. On 22 December 2023, the Election Commission of Pakistan extended the deadline for the submission of nomination papers by two days to 24 December 2023.

Parties

The table below lists each party that either received a share of the vote higher than 0.5% in the 2018 Pakistan general election or had representation in the 15th National Assembly of Pakistan. Political parties are ordered by their vote share in the 2018 elections. Independent Candidates bagged 11.46% of the vote and 13 national assembly seats (both general seats and total seats in the 15th National Assembly, as reserved seats for women and minorities, are given to political parties) in 2018. ,

Populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

Islamic democracy There exist a number of perspectives on the relationship of Islam and democracy among Islamic political theorists, the general Muslim public, and Western authors. In 2021, a number of Muslim majority countries are Islamic and secular democra ...

Welfarism In its most general sense, welfarism is a theory about what has value or what matters. It can be defined as the view that well-being is the only thing that has intrinsic value. ''Pure welfarists'' hold that this value is directly determined by th ...

Anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measu ...

Civic nationalism Civic nationalism, also known as liberal nationalism, is a form of nationalism identified by political philosophers who believe in an inclusive form of nationalism that adheres to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, in ...

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

, 31.82% , , , - ! style="background:;", , PML(N) ,

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a centre-right and liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party ...

} ,

Conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

Economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...

Federalism Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...

, 24.35% , , , - ! style="background:;", , PPP ,

Pakistan People's Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded i ...

} ,

Social democracy Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

Progressivism Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...

Third Way The Third Way is a centrist political position that attempts to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of centre-right economic policies with centre-left social policies. The Third Way was born from a ...

, 13.03% , , , - ! style="background:;", , JUI-F , Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl)
} ,

Islamism Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is ...

Fazl-ur-Rahman Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman ( ur, مولانا فضلُرحمٰن; born 19 June 1953) is a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist politician who is the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F). He is also the president of the Pakistan Democratic Movement ( ...

, rowspan="2" , 4.85% , , , - ! style="background:;", , JI ,

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami (JI; Urdu: , "Islamic Congress"), or Jamaat as it is simply known, is an Islamist political party which is based in Pakistan and it is the Pakistani successor to Jamaat-e-Islami, which was founded in colonial India in 1941. I ...

} ,

Siraj-ul-Haq Siraj ul Haq ( ur, سراج الحق; born 5 September 1962) is a Pakistani politician who was elected as the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious political party in Pakistan which seeks to establish an Islamic legal system. He also served a ...

, , , - ! style="background:;", , MQM(P) ,

Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan Muttahida Qaumi Movement (Pakistan) ( ur, MQM-P) is a Social liberal Muhajir nationalist Secular political party. The leader of the party is Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. The party's symbol is the kite. It is mostly active in Karachi where up t ...

} ,

Liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

Social liberalism Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

Muhajir nationalism

Secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...

Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui () is a Pakistani politician who had been Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, in office from 20 August 2018 to 06 April 2020. He has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, sin ...

, 1.38% , , , - ! style="background:;", , TLP ,

Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (; TLP) is a far-right Islamic extremist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Khadim Hussain Rizvi in August 2015. It became the fifth largest party at the 2018 Pakistani general election, but faile ...

} ,

, Saad Hussain Rizvi , 4.21% , , , - ! style="background:;", , GDA ,

Grand Democratic Alliance The Grand Democratic Alliance ( ur, گرانڈ جمہوری اتحاد) or GDA is a political alliance in Pakistan. It was founded on 23 October 2017 as a political movement, movement against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government in the Sind ...

} , Regionalism ,

Pir of Pagaro VIII Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi III ( sd, صبغت الله شاهه راشدي, ur, ), also known as Raja Saein, the eighth Pir Pagaro, (born 14 February 1956) is a Pakistani politician who has served as a member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh. E ...

, 2.37% , , , - ! style="background:;", , ANP ,

Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; ur, , ps, اولسي ملي ګوند; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its curr ...

} ,

Pashtun nationalism Pashtun nationalism ( ps, پښتون ملتپالنه) generally refers to the idea that Pashtuns must always be united to preserve their culture and defend their homeland against any oppressor. It propagates the view that Muslims are not a nation ...

Democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self- ...

Asfandyar Wali Khan Asfandyar Wali Khan (Urdu and Pashto: اسفندیار ولی خان) (born 19 February 1949) is a Pakistani Pashtun politician who is the president of the Awami National Party (ANP). His father, Abdul Wali Khan, was the party's first presiden ...

, 1.54% , , , - , style="background:;", , PML(Q) , ,

Pakistani nationalism Pakistani nationalism refers to the political, cultural, linguistic, historical, ommonlyreligious and geographical expression of patriotism by the people of Pakistan, of pride in the history, heritage and identity of Pakistan, and visions for ...

Shujaat Hussain Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain ( pa, ; ur, ; (born 27 January 1940) is a senior Pakistani politician from a Punjabi Jat family of Gujrat who previously served as 16th prime minister of Pakistan. Hussain is the party president of the Pakistan ...

, 0.97% , , , - ! style="background:;", , BAP , ,

Khalid Hussain Magsi Khalid Hussain Magsi (; born 2 February 1960) is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 till August 2023. Previously he was a member of the National Assembly from June 2013 to September ...

, 0.60% , , , - ! style="background:;", , BNP(M) , ,

Baloch nationalism __NOTOC__ Baloch nationalism ( Baloch: راج دۏستی بلۏچی) asserts that the Baloch people, an ethnic group native to Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan are a distinct nation, and that their ethnicity overrides religious loyalty. The origins o ...

Akhtar Mengal Akhtar Mengal (born 6 October 1962) is a politician from Balochistan who is the chairman of Balochistan National Party (Mengal). He previously served as the Chief Minister of Balochistan between 1997 and 1998 and later he served as a member of t ...

, 0.45% , , , - ! style="background:;", , AML , Awami Muslim League Pakistan
} ,

Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad ( ur, ; born 6 November 1950) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 38th Interior Minister of Pakistan from 2020 to 2022. He is famous because of his smoking cigars and Laal Haveli. He is the founder and leader of A ...

, 0.22% , , , - ! style="background:;", , JWP ,

Jamhoori Wattan Party The Jamhoori Wattan Party ( ur, جمہوری وطن پارٹی, lit=Republican National Party) is a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan. The party has split into two factions, with the non-dominant one led by Baramdagh Bugti splitting off to ...

} ,

Shahzain Bugti Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018. He served as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Reconciliation and Harmony in Balochistan from 7 July 2021 to 27 ...

, 0.04% , ,

Opinion polls

Opinion polling near elections by top Pakistani election surveyors namely Gallup Pakistan and Institute of Public Opinion Research (IPOR) showed that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) has regained its position against its rival Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) since June 2023, mainly due to return of Nawaz Sharif from exile and Supreme court’s decision disallowing bat symbol. PMLN has emerged most popular party in Punjab province which have majority of seats in Pakistan National assembly. In Punjab PMLN has regained its lost popularity which they enjoyed in 2013 when they received 41% of votes and now, they are standing around the same level at 45%. Whereas PTI support is steady at 35% as comparing to last July 2018 elections in Punjab.As contrary to the general perception in the social and traditional media PMLN has significantly regained its lost ground even in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which is considered PTI stronghold.

Security concerns

On 25 January 2024, the

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bo ...

pledged not to stage attacks on election rallies and would limit itself to attacking military and police targets during the election period. This followed the government's decision to deploy troops in sensitive constituencies after intelligence agencies warned that militants could target rallies.

References

{{Pakistani elections

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

General elections in Pakistan Future elections in Pakistan