Pakistan’s election – Who’s running
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s 127 million voters get to elect a new parliament on Thursday. The election is the 12th in the country’s 76-year history, which has been marred by economic crises, military takeovers and martial law, militancy, political upheavals and wars with India.
On the eve of the election, bombs struck two political offices in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 30 people.
Forty-four political parties are vying for a share of the 266 seats that are up for grabs in the National Assembly, or the lower house of Parliament, with an additional 70 seats reserved for women and minorities.
After the election, the new parliament chooses a prime minister. If no party wins an outright majority, then the one with the biggest share of assembly seats can form a coalition government.
WHO IS IN THE RACE?
Pakistani politics are dominated by men and three parties: the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
The top contender is PML-N and on its ballot are two former prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif.
Their ally the PPP, led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, a member of a political dynasty, has a power base in the country’s south. Though it’s unlikely to get enough votes to get him the premiership, he could still be part of a Sharif-led coalition government.
However, it is the absence from the ballot of PTI’s founder, cricket legend turned Islamist politician Imran Khan, that’s at the forefront of public discourse in Pakistan.
Though it’s become the norm for corruption allegations and court cases to dog prime ministers — many of Pakistan’s leaders have been arrested, disqualified or ousted from office — the intensity of the legal action against Khan is unprecedented.
Khan is in prison and with four criminal convictions so far, three of them handed down last week, he is barred from running in elections or holding public office. He’s been sentenced to three, 10, 14 and seven years, to be served concurrently, and has more than 150 other legal cases pending against him. His party says it’s not getting a fair chance to campaign.
Smaller, religious political parties that appeal to a section of the conservative Muslim country have no chance of getting a majority but could still be part of a coalition government.
The Pakistani military isn’t on the ballot but is the real power behind the scenes — it has ruled the nation for half of its history and calls the shots in most government decisions.