1970 Pakistani general election
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300 of the 313 seats in the National Assembly 151 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||
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Registered | 56,941,500 | ||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 57.96% | ||||||||||||||||||
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Results by constituency | |||||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held in Pakistan on 7 December 1970 to elect members of the National Assembly. They were the first direct general elections since the independence of Pakistan and ultimately the only ones held prior to the independence of Bangladesh. Voting took place in 300 general constituencies, of which 162 were in East Pakistan and 138 in West Pakistan. A further thirteen seats were reserved for women (seven of which were in East Pakistan and six of which were in West Pakistan), who were to be elected by members of the National Assembly.[1]
The elections were a fierce contest between two
The result was a victory for the Awami League, which gained an absolute majority, winning 160 of the 162 general seats and all seven women's seats in East Pakistan. The PPP won only 81 general seats and five women's seats, all in West Pakistan. In the
The National Assembly was initially not inaugurated as President
Background
On 23 March 1956 Pakistan changed from being a
On 17 February 1960 President Ayub Khan appointed a commission under Muhammad Shahabuddin, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, to report a political framework for the country. The commission submitted its report on 29 April 1961, and on the basis of this report, a new constitution was framed on 1 March 1962. The new constitution, declaring the country as Republic of Pakistan, brought about a presidential system of government, as opposed to the parliamentary system of government under the 1956 Constitution. The electoral system was made indirect, and the "basic democrats" were declared electoral college for the purpose of electing members of the National and Provincial Assemblies. Under the new system, presidential elections were held on 2 January 1965 which resulted in a victory for Ayub Khan. As years went by, political opposition against President Ayub Khan mounted. In East Pakistan, leader of the Awami League, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was one of the key leaders to rally opposition to President Ayub Khan. In 1966, he began the Six point movement for East Pakistani autonomy.[citation needed]
In 1968 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was charged with
Ayub Khan succumbed to political pressure on 26 March 1969 and handed power to the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan. President Yahya Khan imposed martial law and the 1962 Constitution was abrogated. On 31 March 1970, President Yahya Khan announced a Legal Framework Order (LFO) which called for direct elections for a unicameral legislature. Many in the West feared the East wing's demand for countrywide provincial autonomy.[7] The purpose of the LFO was to secure the future Constitution which would be written after the election[8] so that it would include safeguards such as preserving Pakistan's territorial integrity and Islamic ideology.[9]
The
A month before the election, the
Parties and candidates
The general elections of 1970 are considered one of the fairest and cleanest elections in the history of Pakistan, with about twenty-four political parties taking part. The general elections presented a picture of a
Election campaign in East Pakistan
The continuous public meetings of the
The
The then leaders of Pakistan, all from West Pakistan and PPP leaders, strongly opposed the idea of an East Pakistani-led government.[14] Many in Pakistan predicted that the Awami League-controlled government would oversee the passage of a new constitution with a simple majority.[14] Bhutto uttered his infamous phrase "idhar hum, udhar tum" (We rule here, you rule there) – thus dividing Pakistan for the first time orally.[15]
The same attitudes and emotions were also felt in East Pakistan whereas East-Pakistanis absorbed the feeling and reached to the conclusion that Pakistan had been benefited with economic opportunities, investments, and social growth would swiftly depose any East Pakistanis from obtaining those opportunities.[14]
Some Bengalis sided with the Pakistan Peoples' Party and tacitly or openly supported Bhutto and the democratic socialists, such as
Elections in West Pakistan
However, the political position in West Pakistan was completely different from East Pakistan. In West Pakistan, the population was divided between different ideological forces. The
), campaigned on a nationalist platform, promising to initiate the Jinnah reforms as originally envisioned by Jinnah and others in the 1940s. The factions however criticised each other for disobeying the rules laid down by the country's founding father.The dynamic leadership and charismatic personality of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was highly active and influential in West Pakistan during these days. Bhutto's ideas and the famous slogan "Roti Kapra Aur Makaan" ("Food, Clothing and Shelter") attracted poor communities, students, and the working class to his party. Under Bhutto's leadership the democratic left gathered and united into one party platform for the first time in Pakistan's history. Bhutto and the left-leaning elements attracted the people of the West to participate and vote for the Peoples Party based on a broad hope for a better future for their children and families. As compared to the right-wing and conservatives in West Pakistan, Bhutto and his allies won most of the popular vote, becoming the pre-eminent players in the politics of the West.
Nominations
A total of 1,957 candidates filed nomination papers for 300 National Assembly seats. After scrutiny and withdrawals, 1,579 eventually contested the elections. The
All thirteen women's seats were uncontested.[16]
Results
167 | 86 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 16 |
AL | PPP | PML(Qa) | CML | JUI | JUP | NAP(W) | JI | Conv-ML | PDP | IND |
The government claimed a high level of public participation and a voter turnout of almost 63%. The total number of registered voters in the country was 56,941,500 of which 31,211,220 were from East Pakistan and 25,730,280 were from West Pakistan.
Jamaat-e-Islami 1,989,461 | 6.03 | 4 | 0 | 4 | | ||||||
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Council Muslim League | 1,965,689 | 5.96 | 7 | 0 | 7 | ||||||
Pakistan Muslim League (Qayyum) | 1,473,749 | 4.47 | 9 | 0 | 9 | ||||||
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam | 1,315,071 | 3.98 | 7 | 0 | 7 | ||||||
Markazi Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan | 1,299,858 | 3.94 | 7 | 0 | 7 | ||||||
Convention Muslim League | 1,102,815 | 3.34 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||
National Awami Party (Wali) | 801,355 | 2.43 | 6 | 1 | 7 | ||||||
Pakistan Democratic Party | 737,958 | 2.24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Thanvi) | 521,764 | 1.58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
Other parties | 387,919 | 1.18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
Independents | 2,322,341 | 7.04 | 16 | 0 | 16 | ||||||
Total | 33,004,065 | 100.00 | 300 | 13 | 313 | ||||||
Registered voters/turnout | 56,941,500 | – | |||||||||
Source: Nohlen et al.,[17] Bangladesh Documents |
Elected members in eastern Pakistan
List of members in East Bengal:[18]
Elected members in western Pakistan
List of members from
Aftermath
The elected Assembly initially did not meet as
References
- JSTOR 3024655.
- ^ 1970 polls: When election results created a storm Dawn, 8 January 2012
- ^ History: Bhutto, Mujib and the generals Dawn, 4 May 2019
- ^ ISBN 978-0-312-21606-1.
- ISBN 978-0-312-21606-1.
The Agartala contacts however did not provide solid evidence of a Mujib-India secessionist conspiracy in East Pakistan
- ISBN 978-0-312-21606-1.
It is now clear that Mujib did hold secret discussions with local Indian leaders there in July 1962. Moreover, following the 1965 war there were meetings between Awami League leaders and representatives of the Indian Government at a number of secret locations.
- ISBN 978-0-312-21606-1.
When this duly arrived. the western wing's nightmare scenario materialised: either a constitutional deadlock, or the imposition in the whole of the country of the Bengalis' longstanding commitment to unfettered democracy and provincial autonomy.
- ISBN 978-0-312-21606-1.
Yahya had made some provision to safeguard the constitutional outcome through the promulgation of the Legal Framework Order (LFO) on 30 March 1970. It set a deadline of 120 days for the framing of a constitution by the National Assembly and reserved to the President the right to authenticate it.
- ISBN 978-0-312-21606-1.
It would also have to enshrine the following five principles: an Islamic ideology...and internal affairs and the preservation of the territorial integrity of the country
- ISBN 978-0-312-21606-1.
He also refused to countenance intelligence service reports both of Mujib's aim to tear up the LFO after the elections and establish Bangladesh and of India's growing involvement in the affairs of East Pakistan.
- ISBN 978-0-312-21606-1.
From November 1969 until the announcement of the national election results, he discounted the possibility of an Awami League landslide in East Pakistan.
- ISBN 978-0-312-21606-1.
The regime also increasingly favoured the Islam pasand (Islam loving) parties because of their conservatism and attachment to the idea of a strong central government
- ISBN 978-0-312-21606-1.
The JI itself warned that an Awami League victory would mean the disintegration of Pakistan.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-300-10147-8.
- ^ "Idhar hum, udhar tum: Abbas Athar remembered - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ Report on the General Elections in Pakistan, 1972, p167
- ISBN 0-19-924958-X
- ^ "Notification" (PDF). Government of Pakistan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2018.
- ^ "1970 General Election Results". Election Pakistan. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ 5th National Assembly from 1972 to 10th January 1977 (PDF)