| Pakistan |
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General elections were held in Pakistan on 16 November 1988 to elect the National Assembly of Pakistan. The result was a victory for the Pakistan People's Party, which won 94 of the 207 seats. Voter turnout was 43.5%.[1]
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On 29 May 1988, the National Assembly which was elected in 1985 was dissolved prematurely by President Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq dismissing the Prime Minister and the rest of his cabinet asserting that the 'administration was corrupt and inefficient'. The new polling date (exceeding the limit of 90 days following dissolution laid down by the Constitution of Pakistan) was set by the President on 20 July 1988. Moreover it was also announced that the elections would be held on a non-party basis.[2]
However, following the accidental death of President Zia on 17 August, the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 2 October, reversed the ban on parties and allowed the elections to be held on a party basis.
The Pakistan People's Party (PPP), led by Benazir Bhutto and the conservative Islamic Democratic Alliance (IJI), headed by Nawaz Sharif, as well as a huge number of other groups, fielded around 1,370 candidates for the 237[3] seats of the assembly. The campaign lasted for a month and remained generally peaceful.[2]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan People's Party | 7,546,561 | 38.5 | 94 |
| Islami Jamhoori Ittehad | 5,908,741 | 30.2 | 56 |
| Pakistan Awami Ittehad | 848,119 | 4.2 | 3 |
| Awami National Party | 409,555 | 2.1 | 2 |
| Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl-ur-Rehman) | 360,526 | 1.8 | 7 |
| Punjabi Pakhtun Ittehad | 105,061 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Pakistan National Party | 104,442 | 0.5 | 0 |
| National Peoples Party (Khar) | 97,363 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Pakistan Democratic Party | 80,743 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Balochistan National Alliance | 59,248 | 0.3 | 2 |
| Pakistan Muslim League (MQ) | 55,052 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Pakistan Milli Awai Ittehad | 46,562 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Darkhasti) | 44,964 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Fiqua-e-Jaffria | 42,261 | 0.2 | 0 |
| 15 other parties | 51,656 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Independents | 3,829,705 | 19.5 | 40 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 313,926 | - | - |
| Total | 19,904,440 | 100 | 207 |
| Source: Nohlen et al | |||
In light of these results, the acting President Ghulam Ishaq Khan invited the PPP to form a government. The PPP formed the Government making alliances with small parties and independent groups. On 4 December 1988, Benazir Bhutto was elected as the first female Prime Minister of a Muslim country. The new Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister was subsequently announced.[2]
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