1977 Pakistani general election

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1977 Pakistani general election
← 1970 7 March 1977 1985 →
200 of the 216 seats in the National Assembly
101 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Abdul Wali Khan
Party
PPP
 PNA
Seats won 155 36
Popular vote 10,093,868 6,154,921
Percentage 59.74% 36.43%
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

PPP

 Elected Prime Minister

None
Martial law

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    General elections were held in

    National Assembly.[1] They were the second general elections held in Pakistan and the first to be held after the Bangladesh Liberation War
    .

    Although the elections were initially scheduled to be held in the second half of 1977 after the completion of the National Assembly's parliamentary term, the

    Khan Abdul Wali Khan
    , who was also regarded as the leader of the PNA.

    The result was a landslide victory for the PPP, which won 155 seats. Meanwhile, the PNA won only 36 seats; the

    successfully executed, resulting in the overthrow of government and dissolution of the National Assembly. Subsequently, Pakistan entered its third period of military rule.[3]

    Campaign

    The elections were held earlier than originally planned, and were expected to be held in the second half of 1977.[4] However, on 7 January 1977, Bhutto appeared on national television, announcing the elections would be held earlier, and started his political campaign shortly after appearing on national television.[4] On 10 January, Election Commissioner of Pakistan Justice Sajjad Ahmad Jan announced the election schedule and declared 19 and 22 January as the last date for receipt of nominations for the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies, respectively.[4]

    Bhutto responded aggressively, immediately issuing party tickets to his workers. Unlike the 1970 elections, when

    Pakistan Peoples Party mainly banked on socialist slogans, this time Bhutto also relied on political heavyweights, issuing tickets to feudal lords and other influential members.[4] Bhutto himself held public meetings all over the country, and to get further support from the common man, he announced labour reforms on 4 January, and on 5 January, a second set of land reforms.[4] The attendance in the public meetings was amazing in all parts of the country, especially in interior Sindh and Punjab.[4] Bhutto's motives for holding elections earlier was that not to give sufficient time to the opposition to make decisions and arrangements for the forthcoming elections.[4]

    The

    Pakistan Peoples Party that was targeting Peoples Party on a number of occasions.[4] Throughout the elections, the PNA failed to justify their plans for the country but instead targeted the Peoples' Party, concentrating on misdeed, alleged corruptions (although there were no evidences that linked to Bhutto), financial mismanagement, heavy expenditures on administration and disastrous economic policies evidenced by inflation.[4]

    Electoral preparations

    The Election Commission entered the registry of 30,899,052 voters, commissioned two hundred and fifty five Returning officers (RO) to manage voting system of the polling offices established in entire country. Surprisingly, the elections resulted the supermajority of Pakistan Peoples Party and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, securing 155 seats out of 200

    The result was a victory for the

    Balochistan
    elections due to ongoing military operations.

    Results

    On 7 March 1977, the Election Commission announced the result in which

    Pakistan Peoples Party won the largest landslide victory in Pakistan's electoral history, winning 155 out of 200 seats in the Parliament. The Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) secured only 36 seats and eight seats on each of province's legislative assemblies, but the PNA had not contested all the seats, with some parties boycotting elections in parts of the country. The PNA failed to secure any seats from industrial cities such as Lahore. In Karachi 80% of seats were secured. A similar outcome was seen in Rawalpindi, where the PNA had arranged a massive demonstration and big public gatherings and processions. These results were in stark contrast to the widespread predictions that although Bhutto would win the election, but not by a wide margin that the results suggested.[5]

    Overall, the PPP won 60% of votes, a supermajority in the parliament, voting figures showing the success of the PPP candidates often surpassed the actual number that turned up for voting.[citation needed] In numerous constituencies in Punjab, where Bhutto faced the strongest opposition, Bhutto's candidates returned with over 95% of the vote.[citation needed] Observers noticed that in polling offices where PNA's candidates were strong, the polling was alleged to have been blocked for hours.[citation needed] Observers, both in national and international, quickly pointed out that the results in key constituencies were issued directly from the Prime Minister's office.[citation needed]

    PartyVotes%Seats
    GeneralWomenMinorityTotal+/–
    Pakistan Peoples Party
    		10,093,86859.74155106171+85
    Pakistan National Alliance6,154,92136.43360036+24
    Pakistan Muslim League (Qayyum)157,3700.931001–8
    Pakistan Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party48,1450.280000New
    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Hazarvi)7,5950.040000New
    Pakistan Inqlabi Mahaz6,4940.040000New
    Tahafuz-e-Islam5,2060.030000New
    Pakistan Worker's Party1,7160.010000New
    Pakistan Socialist Party1,0600.010000New
    Jammaat-e-Aalia Mujahideen8080.000000New
    Independents417,8082.478008–8
    Total16,894,991100.00200106216–97
    Source: Gallup Pakistan, FAFEN

    Aftermath

    Further information:
    Electoral fraud in Pakistan

    When the results were announced, a great ire on Bhutto was raised by Alliance's leader

    Federal Security Force
    , Bhutto's commissioned security forces. Alliance leaders called upon the people to stage countrywide strikes and organise protest marches. The followers fully responded to the call and a full-fledged political movement started, during this episode, the business community wholeheartedly joined Alliance. The Alliance used mosques and churches to stimulate the masses and tried to create an impression that they were only working for the enforcement of Nizam-i-Mustafa. They criticised the socialistic attitude of Bhutto and alleged that he had lost his faith in Islam. The ulema whipped up emotions for a jihad to save Islam, which they thought was in danger from an evil regime. The bar associations across the country also began to register their strong protest against the electoral fraud and denounced the post-election policy of repression. The law and order situation created by rioting by the PNA cost the economy $765 million and exports fell by 35%.

    Bhutto used repression to curb the Alliance but soon came to conclusion that it was not possible. Therefore, Bhutto tried to use the option of dialogue by holding talks with the Alliance leaders. The Alliance demanded the 50% representation in the government, release of their party workers and leaders, and demanded new elections before 14 August. On 3 July 1977, then-director general of

    Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Mohammad Shariff, imposed martial law and sent Bhutto behind the bars. Shortly, General Zia announced: "Had an agreement reached between the opposition and the Government, I would certainly never have done what I did...". Although his statement was dismissed by General Khalid Mahmud Arif in 1979.[citation needed
    ]

    References

    1. ISBN 0-19-924958-X
    2. ^ Bhutto and the 1977 coup The News, 9 July 2017
    3. ^ General Elections 1977 Story of Pakistan
    4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Story of Pakistan (June 2003). "General Elections 1977". January 1, 1977. Story of Pakistan, 1977 elections. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
    5. ISBN 9780312216061
      . The reality seems to be that a certain PPP victory was inflated by malpractice committed by local officials, which may have affected 30–40 seats.
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