[🇵🇰] Pakistan General Elections -- 2024

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ANP suspends basic membership of members over violations of party discipline​

The Awami National Party (ANP) has suspended the basic membership of several individuals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for violating the party discipline.

According to a statement, the affected members had supported candidates other than those officially endorsed by the party for the general elections.

The termination of their memberships was approved by Chairman of the Provincial Election Commission, Shakeel Bashir Khan Umarzai, in consultation with the ANP’s district officials.

 

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Voters with expired identity cards can cast votes, says ECP​

Voters with an expired national identity card can cast their votes in the upcoming general elections on February 8, APP reports.

Spokesman of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) KP, Sohail Ahmad told APP that all voters whose identity cards have expired are eligible for casting votes.

However, all voters must take their original identity card to the polling station, otherwise they will not be allowed to exercise their right of franchise, he said.

He said the ECP took this decision to allow the participation of hundreds of thousands of voters in elections.

A large number of people were approaching and asking about their eligibility due to the expiry of the identity cards, he added.

 

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Gallup survey shows record-high pessimism ahead of elections​

A Gallup survey shows that seven in 10 Pakistanis “lack confidence in the honesty of their elections”.

Moreover, an unprecedented 70 per cent said that they think the economic conditions in the country were getting worse.

The survey notes that a clear majority of Pakistanis (88pc) believed corruption within the government is widespread, on par with the figure from 2022 (86p), which was a record high for the country.

 

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[4MikeEcho]

Bilawal vows to change Karachi’s fortune in five years if PPP elected​

PPP chairman says city will be given representation it deserves in Sindh cabinet

News Desk
February 05, 2024

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressing a rally in Karachi on February 5, 2024. PHOTO: PPP MEDIA CELL

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday stated that if the people of Karachi elected PPP candidates from at least 20 National Assembly seats, the city’s landscape will change within five years.

The Pakistan’s financial capital 22 and 47 national and provincial assembly seats,

5 years, just enough time to steal some more money and extend the Dubai empire. Putting it in UK is too much trouble. Just Dubai serves the purpose of it not being in Pakistan

 

[Old School]

70% of Pakistanis Lack Trust in Elections, Gallup Poll Finds​

A new survey indicates that more than two-thirds of Pakistan citizens lack faith in the integrity of their electoral process and government ahead of Thursday’s parliamentary elections. The U.S.-based Gallup polling company found that Pakistanis are increasingly discouraged by economic, political, and security challenges that threaten their country’s stability, with discontent reaching a record high before the vote.
70% of Pakistanis Lack Trust in Elections, Gallup Poll Finds (voanews.com)

 

[Old School]

Pakistanis' Discontent Reaches Record High Before Election​

Summary
According to recent Gallup surveys, Pakistanis are feeling more discouraged than they have in decades due to a range of economic, political, and security challenges that threaten the stability of their country. The country's financial struggles will likely be a focal point in the upcoming election, although it is not the only concern on citizens' minds. In late 2023, Gallup found that Pakistanis were more pessimistic about their economy than at any other point in the past 18 years. A record-high 70% of respondents reported worsening economic conditions in their area.

Pakistanis' Discontent Reaches Record High Before Election (gallup.com)

 

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Rohait Bhagwant

 

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How religious does your party have to be to win an election in Pakistan?

Religious parties like JI or JUI have never won enough votes in Pakistan, a country founded in the name of Islam. Is it the will of the people or the influence of electables that dictates electoral success?

Umair Rasheed
February 7, 2024

Why have, say, the Jamaat-i-Islami or the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s Samiul Haq never won enough votes to form the national government on their own in Pakistan? We are, after all, a country that was created in the name of Islam. Shouldn’t religious parties win more votes?

Two major reasons to explain this: The will of the people of Pakistan has to be accounted for. You ignore popular concerns such as the prices of petrol, potatoes, and power at your peril. Then you have to factor in those who control the levers of the Pakistani state and society. The powers-that-be play an outsized role in the electoral battlefield with their constituency-level lieutenants (read: electable politicians, who can sway election results one way or the other depending on the muscle of their biradari or the depth of their pockets).

Whoever wants to form the government must either have the blessings of the puppet masters, or be able to harness enough popular endorsement by personifying the will of the people. From Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to Imran Khan, however, none of the mainstream leaders have managed to unlock the second route to power. Thus, the tried-and-tested ingredient to forming a national government is electables who can reach the right numbers.

There are over two dozen religious political parties registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan. They all share the goal of Sharia-based governance. Some of them, such as the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam — Fazl (JUI-F) and the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) have wisened up, which means they may do well on February 8. The JUI-F stands out for its Deoband lineage, its sway over the Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, and its consistent electoral successes in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan.

 

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5 unlikely candidates contesting tomorrow’s general elections​

Due to the PTI’s predicament, there are a number of unexpected candidates contesting this year’s polls as the party tries to circumvent obstacles in its path.