1977 Pakistani general election

1977 Pakistani general election

7 March 1977
200 of the 216 seats in theNational 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 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto PPP

General elections were held inPakistanon 7 March 1977 to elect 200 members of theNational Assembly.They were the second general elections held in Pakistan and the first to be held after theBangladesh 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, thePakistan People's Party(PPP) government led byZulfikar Ali Bhuttodecided to hold the elections earlier. As the majority of general public had a favourable opinion of Bhutto government, it was widely anticipated that the PPP would be re-elected.In response, nine opposition parties united together to form thePakistan National Alliance(PNA). The PNA ran on aright-wingplatform, opposing the PPP'sleft-wing stance.However, the PNA also consisted of some left-wing parties that opposed Bhutto, including theNational Awami PartyofKhan 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; thePakistan Muslim League (Qayyum)was the only other party to win a seat. The PPP's victory meant Bhutto would continue asPrime Minister.However, the PNA accused the PPP of rigging the elections, and refused to accept the result. Although allegations of rigging were denied by PPP, the claims made by PNA sparked unrest that resulted in mass demonstrations and violent anti-Bhutto protests. Bhutto and the security forces were unable to control the situation and the government was forced to declaremartial law.TheChief of Army StaffMuhammad Zia-ul-Haqsubsequently called a secret meeting of senior military officials to plan a coup, which wassuccessfully executed,resulting in the overthrow of government and dissolution of the National Assembly. Subsequently, Pakistan entered its third period of military rule.

Campaign

The elections were held earlier than originally planned, and were expected to be held in the second half of 1977.However, on 7 January 1977, Bhutto appeared onnational television,announcing the elections would be held earlier, and started his political campaign shortly after appearing on national television.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.

Bhutto responded aggressively, immediately issuing party tickets to his workers. Unlike the 1970 elections, whenPakistan Peoples Partymainly banked on socialist slogans, this time Bhutto also relied on political heavyweights, issuing tickets to feudal lords and other influential members.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.The attendance in the public meetings was amazing in all parts of the country, especially in interior Sindh and Punjab.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.

ThePNAhad become a big problem forPakistan Peoples Partythat was targeting Peoples Party on a number of occasions.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 anddisastrouseconomic policiesevidenced by inflation.

Electoral preparations

TheElection Commissionentered the registry of 30,899,052 voters, commissioned two hundred and fifty fiveReturning officers(RO) to manage voting system of thepolling officesestablished in entire country. Surprisingly, the elections resulted thesupermajorityof Pakistan Peoples Party andZulfikar Ali Bhutto,securing 155 seats out of 200

The result was a victory for thePakistan People's Party,which won 155 of the 200 elected seats, including 19 that were uncontested as thePakistan National Allianceboycotted theBalochistanelections due to ongoing military operations.

Results

On 7 March 1977, the Election Commission announced the result in whichPakistan Peoples Partywon 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.

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.In numerous constituencies in Punjab, where Bhutto faced the strongest opposition, Bhutto's candidates returned with over 95% of the vote.Observers noticed that in polling offices where PNA's candidates were strong, the polling was alleged to have been blocked for hours.Observers, both in national and international, quickly pointed out that the results in key constituencies were issued directly from the Prime Minister's office.

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				General	Women	Minority	Total	+/–
	Pakistan Peoples Party	10,093,868	59.74	155	10	6	171	+85
	Pakistan National Alliance	6,154,921	36.43	36	0	0	36	+24
	Pakistan Muslim League (Qayyum)	157,370	0.93	1	0	0	1	–8
	Pakistan Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party	48,145	0.28	0	0	0	0	New
	Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam(Hazarvi)	7,595	0.04	0	0	0	0	New
	Pakistan Inqlabi Mahaz	6,494	0.04	0	0	0	0	New
	Tahafuz-e-Islam	5,206	0.03	0	0	0	0	New
	Pakistan Worker's Party	1,716	0.01	0	0	0	0	New
	Pakistan Socialist Party	1,060	0.01	0	0	0	0	New
	Jammaat-e-Aalia Mujahideen	808	0.00	0	0	0	0	New
	Independents	417,808	2.47	8	0	0	8	–8
Total		16,894,991	100.00	200	10	6	216	–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 leaderAbdul Vali Khan,accusing Bhutto for systematically rigging the elections. The Alliance boycotted the assemblies sessions, staging massive demonstration in the country. Vali Khan demanded immediate resignation of Bhutto, chief election commissioner, and as well as the government, proposing the idea of holding new elections under the supervision ofSupreme Court of Pakistan.Bhutto refused the demands, Vali Khan and the Alliance decided to bring their party workers onto the streets, to break law deliberately, and to confront the police and theFederal 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 ofMilitary IntelligenceMajor-GeneralKhalid Mahmud Arifrevealed the military's plot to overthrow Bhutto, urging Bhutto to "rush the negotiations before its too late". The next day, Bhutto accepted all demands of Alliance and the stage was set for a compromise. Bhutto immediately travelled toSaudi ArabiaandUnited Arab Emirates,further putting the negotiations behind and the Alliance termed his tour as "dilatory tactics". On 5 July,Chief of Army StaffGeneralMuhammad Zia-ul-Haq,supported byChief of Naval StaffAdmiralMohammad 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.