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Structure of Government
Pakistan is afederal state, headed by an executive President. It has a parliamentary system of government headed by a Prime Minister appointed by the President from among the members of the National Assembly. The Parliament (Majlis-e-Shoora) is bi-cameral, with the two houses being the National Assembly and the Senate. The federation of Pakistan includes four provinces ( Balochistan, North West Frontier Province, Punjab and Sindh) each of which has an elected Provincial Assembly, an elected Chief Minister and a Governor appointed by the President. The federation also includes the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the Northern Territories, Islamabad Capital Territory and the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir (Azad Kashmir).
President: The President is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of the Senate, the National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The Chief Election Commissioner conducts the Presidential election.
The Senate consists of 100 members who serve a six year term, 22 of whom are elected by each Provincial Assembly.
The National Assembly has 342 seats. 272 of these are general seats for members who are directly elected by simple majority in single member districts. The Assembly also has 60 reserved seats for women, and 10 for non-Muslims. Candidates for these seats are indirectly elected using a proportional system based on the number of general seats won by each political party from the province concerned (for womens reserved seats) and country-wide (non-Muslim seats). Women and non-Muslims are picked from closed party lists, therefore independent candidates cannot run for a reserved seat. Members serve a five year term.
|
Provinces/territories |
National Assembly |
|
General |
Women |
Non-Muslims |
Total |
|
The Punjab |
148 |
35 |
- |
183 |
|
Sindh |
61 |
14 |
- |
75 |
|
NWFP |
35 |
8 |
- |
43 |
|
Balochistan |
14 |
3 |
- |
17 |
|
FATA |
12 |
- |
- |
12 |
|
Federal Capital |
2 |
- |
- |
2 |
|
Nationwide |
- |
- |
10 |
10 |
|
Total |
272 |
60 |
10 |
342 |
Provincial Assemblies : Each Provincial Assembly consists of general seats and reserved seats for women and for non-Muslims. Members serve a five year term. The number of seats is as follows:
|
Provinces/territories |
Provincial Assemblies |
|
General |
Women |
Non-Muslims |
Total |
|
The Punjab |
297 |
66 |
8 |
371 |
|
Sindh |
130 |
29 |
9 |
168 |
|
NWFP |
99 |
22 |
3 |
124 |
|
Balochistan |
51 |
11 |
3 |
65 |
|
Total |
577 |
128 |
23 |
728 |
Local Government: Elections for local government bodies (for some 7,000 Nazims at Union Council, Tehsil/Taluka, Zila and City District level) are held on a non-party basis.
Voters: A person is qualified to to vote in elections to the National Assembly if he/she is a citizen of Pakistan and is not less than eighteen years of age on the first day of January in the year in which the preparation or revision of the electoral rolls commences.
Political parties and candidates: Political parties enroll with the Election Commission of Pakistan. They are required to submit various documents including the partys constitution. For the 2008 elections, 47 parties are contesting. The Constitution of Pakistan and electoral legislation stipulate various requirements for candidature (including the holding of a BA degree to run for a National Assembly seat). The candidate registration process is conducted by the Returning Officer of each constituency.
Legal framework
International law
Pakistan is not a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
Pakistan is a state party to the following international conventions:
- Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1954)
- Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (1966)
- Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990)
- Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (1996), with Pakistan entering a reservation that accession is subject to the provisions of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
National legislation :
The legislative provisions relating to the National and Provincial Assembly elections in Pakistan are scattered in a large number of legal documents including the Constitution, laws(Acts, Orders and Ordinances) and subsidiary legislation (rules and regulations).
- These include: Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973 (as amended)
- Delimitation of Constituencies Act 1974
- Electoral Rolls Act 1974
- Electoral Rolls Rules 1974
- Representation of People Act 1976
- Conduct of General Election Order 2002
- Election Commission Order 2002
- Political Parties Order 2002
- Qualification to Hold Public Offices Order 2002
- Legal Framework Order 2002
- Constitution (Seventeenth) Amendment Act 2003
- Electoral Rolls Rules 2006
- Electoral Rolls (Amendment) Ordinance 2007
- National Reconciliation Ordinance 2007
- Presidents Order No.5 of 2007
The Election Commission of Pakistan has the power to issue directions or orders, and may make rules with the Presidents approval. | 
