*ISLAMABAD – Pakistan is one of the fewer countries of the world, wherechange of a government or transfer of power not always happens throughvote.*
So, it is a rare happening that the two political governments havecompleted their tenure in a row. And now a third government being electedthrough the election on July 25.
The country is going to hold general election on July 25 to elect membersof the lower house, the National Assembly and four provinces – Punjab,Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Of the total 272 general seats in the National Assembly, a party needs tobag 137 seats or more through elections to form a government.
Polling will take place in 272 constituencies across the country from 8amuntil 6pm on July 25.
In addition, there are 70 more seats reserved for women and minorities thatwill be divided among the parties in proportion to the seats won by eachparty. So in total, there are 342 seats of the lower house of theParliament.
The voters will also elect the members of four provincial assemblies on thepolling day.*The electoral landscape*
Pakistan’s population totals above 200 million as the interim results ofthe latest Census said. Around 105 million of the total population areregistered voters.
An estimated 40 million young Pakistanis will be eligible to vote in theupcoming elections hailing from both urban and rural populace.
The issues that may shape the outcome are more clear-cut. With thedeclining economy, agricultural dilemmas and lack of vital facilities likeclean water, electricity, quality education and healthcare remain beyondthe reach of many Pakistanis it is hard to come to any valid conclusionmaking this election any one’s game at this point.
Foreign exchange reserves are falling, the fiscal deficit is rising, andIMF bailout help is again being considered. The governance has suffered themost.
At present, a caretaker government is in place. An independent electioncommission has been functioning to oversee the polls. EU and other foreignentities have sent observers to monitor the transparency of polls.