National Assembly of Pakistan

National Assembly of Pakistan
Type
Founded 15 August 1947 (1947-08-15)
Type Lower house of Parliament of Pakistan
Leadership
Speaker Dr. Fahmida Mirza, (PPP)
since 18 March 2008
Leader of the House Abdul Hanan Baig
Leader of the Opposition Nisar Ali Khan, (PML N)
since 17 September 2008
Structure
Members 336
National Assembly Political groups The Government (224)
     PPP (121)
     PML (Q) (54)
     MQM (25)
     ANP (13)
     JUI (6)
     PML (F) (5)
Official Opposition (91)
     PML (N) (91)
Other Opposition (21)
     Independent members (18)
     Other members (3)
Elections
National Assembly Voting system List PR with 70 reserved seats
National Assembly Last election 18 February 2008
Meeting place
Parliament House, Islamabad
Website
Official Website (English)
Pakistan

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
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The National Assembly of Pakistan (Urdu: قومی اسمبلی پاكستان) is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also comprises the President of Pakistan and Senate (upper house). The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad. The National Assembly is a democratically elected body, consisting of 342 members, who are referred to as Members of the National Assembly (MNAs).

Members are elected through the first-past-the-post system under universal adult suffrage, representing electoral districts known as National Assembly constituencies. According to the constitution, there are 70 seats reserved for women and religious minorities; allocated according to proportional representation.

Each National Assembly is formed for a five year term, commencing from the date of the first sitting, after which it is automatically dissolved. The National Assembly can be dissolved by the President of Pakistan, upon the advice of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The current National Assembly term is set to expire on 18 March 2013.

Contents

History

Powers

Members

Qualifications

The Constitution of Pakistan lists a number of requirements for members of the National Assembly in Article 62.[1] To qualify for membership within the National Assembly, an individual must, foremost, be a citizen of Pakistan and over the age of 25. Additionally, individuals must be of good character, honest, and not proven otherwise by a court of law. Though inapplicable upon non-Muslims, members are required to be well versed in Islam and its teachings, practice obligatory duties and abstain from major sins.

The constitution also details a number of disqualifications in Article 63, which include mental instability, insolvency, criminal conviction and accepting dual-citizenship or relinquishing their Pakistani nationality, among others. Furthermore, an individual would stand disqualified if he or she is found to have opposed Pakistan's ideology or worked against the integrity of the country, after its establishment in 1947.

Officers

The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the National Assembly. The Speaker is assisted by the Deputy Speaker. Both officers are elected from within the ranks of the National Assembly and, by current convention, are usually members of the majority party. The election of the two officers is the first matter an incoming National Assembly deals with, as mandated by the constitution. Apart from presiding over National Assembly debates, the Speaker may also assume the duties of Acting President, if the position is vacant.

The Speaker may step down by submitting a handwritten resignation letter to the President and the Deputy Speaker may submit his resignation to the Speaker, if he/she wishes to do so. The current Speaker of the House is Dr. Fahmida Mirza and the Deputy Speaker is Faisal Kareem Kundi, both are from the PPP.

The Leader of the House is the highest ranking representative of the majority party and is usually the Prime Minister of Pakistan, currently Yousuf Raza Gillani. The Leader of the Opposition is the highest ranking representative of the main opposition party, currently Nisar Ali Khan.

Composition and elections

The composition of the National Assembly is specified in Article 51[2] of the Constitution of Pakistan. There are a total of 342 seats in the National Assembly. Of these, 272 are filled by direct elections. In addition, the Pakistani Constitution reserves 10 seats for religious minorities and 60 seats for women, to be filled by proportional representation among parties with more than 5% of the vote. As of 2006, there are 72 women members in the Assembly.

Members of the National Assembly are elected by the people in competitive multi-party elections, to be held at most five years apart. According to Article 62 of the Constitution, candidates must be citizens of Pakistan and not less than eighteen years of age.

Latest election

Results of the Pakistani general election, 2008

Political Party Votes % Elected seats Reserved seats (Women) Reserved seats (Minorities/Non-Muslims) Total
Pakistan Peoples Party 10,606,486 30.6% 94 23 4 121
Pakistan Muslim League (N) 6,781,445 19.6% 71 17 3 91
Pakistan Muslim League (Q) 7,989,817 23.0% 42 10 2 54
Muttahida Qaumi Movement 2,507,813 7.4% 19 5 1 25
Awami National Party 700,479 2.0% 10 3 0 13
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan 772,798 2.2% 5 1 0 6
Pakistan Muslim League (F) 4 1 0 5
Pakistan Peoples Party (Sherpao) 140,707 0.4% 1 0 0 1
National Peoples Party 1 0 0 1
Balochistan National Party (Awami) 1 0 0 1
Independents 18 0 0 18
Total 34,665,978 100% 266 60 10 336
Source: Election Commission of Pakistan, Adam Carr's Electoral Archive

Current composition

Affiliation Members
PPP 121
PML(N) 91
PML(Q) 54
MQM 25
ANP 13
JUI-(F) 6
PML (F) 5
Others 3
Independents 18
 Total
 336
 Ruling coalition majority
 133

Dissolution

National Assembly can be dissolved at the initiative of the Prime Minister. If dissolved, new elections are conducted for the Assembly. Article 58 of the Constitution of Pakistan deals with the dissolution of the Assembly:

Article 58(2)B

(1) The President shall dissolve the National Assembly if so advised by the Prime Minister; and the National Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved at the expiration of forty-eight hours after the Prime Minister has so advised.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (2) of Article 48, the President may also dissolve the National Assembly in his discretion where, in his opinion,:
(a) a vote of no-confidence having been passed against the Prime Minister, no other member of the National Assembly is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution as ascertained in a session of the National Assembly summoned for the purpose; or
(b) a situation has arisen in which the Government of the Federation cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and an appeal to the electorate is necessary.
(3) The President in case of dissolution of the National Assembly under paragraph (b) of clause (2) shall, within fifteen days of the dissolution, refer the matter to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court shall decide the reference within thirty days, whose decision shall be final.

Now with the introduction of 18th amendment to the constitution the Article 58(2)B stands null and void.[3]

Administrative Distribution

Accordance of Election Commission of Pakistan who is playing a great rule in making of government distribute the country into 272 National Assembly seats. Starting from NA-1 Peshawar-I till NA-272 Kech-Cum-Gwadar. FATA 12 Federal Capital 2 KPK 35 Punjab 148 Sindh 61 Balochistan 14 Seats.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ http://pakistanconstitution-law.org/article-62-qualifications-for-membership-of-majlis-e-shoora-parliament/
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan

External links