More than 12,000 seeking office in general elections
A TOTAL OF 3,675 CONTESTANTS ARE TARGETING 272 GENERAL SEATS IN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
As many as 12,570 candidates will contest the upcoming general elections for National Assembly and Provincial Assembly seats, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Initially, 21,482 candidates filed nomination papers, but the final list released by ECP confirms that only 12,570 will contest the July 25 elections.
A total of 3,675 contestants are vying for 272 general seats of the National Assembly (NA) whereas 8,895 are contesting for 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies (PA).
Pakistan’s parliament consists of the president and two Houses known as the National Assembly and the Senate.
Voting for the lower house, the National Assembly, will be held on July 25 — on a firstpast-the-post voting method.
There are 70 more seats reserved for women and minorities, bringing the total to 342 seats.
Voting for the NA and four provincial assemblies will take place at the same time.
Around 172 women have entered the race for National Assembly and 386 for provincial legislatures in the upcoming elections. A total of 157 nonMuslims are taking part in elections 2018 of which 44 will contest for NA seats and the remaining 113 for PA seats.
The seats in the National Assembly are allocated to each province and the federal capital on the basis of population.
The largest numbers of contestants come from Punjab province where 1,696 contestants are vying for National Assembly seats while a total of 4,242 for the provincial legislature. Moreover, 73 women are in the run for NA and 174 for the PA of the largest province by population, whereas 32 non-Muslims are also contesting for the Punjab assembly.
In second most populous province of Sindh, a total of 872 are contesting for the National Assembly seats and 2,382 for the Sindh assembly, including 824 for general seats of NA and 2,252 for the provincial legislature.
Non-Muslim candidates
Nearly 48 women will be contesting for NA seats and 91 for the PA seats. Sindh boasts the highest number of non-Muslim candidates in a PA race, at 39.
According to the data shared by the Election Commission of Pakistan, around 760 candidates are contesting for the NA seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 1,264 for the PA of which 725 will be competing for the general seats of NA and 1,165 of provincial general seats. Around 35 women are contesting for NA and 79 for the PA besides 20 non-Muslims for the PA seats.
Balochistan province has the lowest number of candidates, with 303 eyeing National Assembly seats while 1,007 are seeking the PA slots. Nearly 58 women are running for both NA and PA seats whereas 22 nonMuslims are contesting for the provincial assembly.