Pakistan, a nation of nearly 250 million people, will vote to elect a national government and members of the National Assembly On Thursday, the lower house of parliament.
The vote comes amid a crackdown on former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and a fluid political climate.
Find the major parties of country — This includes parties that have held national power, as well as those with strong influence in specific regions or communities. Additionally, there are smaller parties that represent Pakistan’s diverse range of issues and challenges.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN)
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, a centrist party led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, came to power for the third time in 2013 with a clear majority.
However, Sharif, who is 74 years old, was ousted from his position in 2017 before finishing his term because he faced numerous corruption allegations. He, along with his daughter Maryam, was sent to prison for 10 years in 2018, just days before the previous national election.
Shehbaz Sharif, 72, Nawaz’s younger brother and former chief minister of the party’s political stronghold, Punjab, took office as prime minister in 2022. That was after the PMLN, as part of an alliance known as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), toppled Khan and his government in a vote of no-confidence. Khan had come to power in 2018.
Shehbaz’s supporters often call him “Shehbaz speed” for his energy and fast delivery style on infrastructure projects, such as Lahore’s Metro Bus project.
However, his 16 months as prime minister saw hyperinflation and protests led by Khan’s PTI.
Moreover, Nawaz returned to Pakistan in October from four years of self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom. Within weeks, corruption charges against him were overruled in the courts, leading to suggestions from analysts that he had been handpicked by the powerful military as the nation’s next prime minister.
The biggest challenge before the Sharifs will be to wrestle back their support base from Khan, who despite being in jail under multiple sentences, remains a popular force, especially among urban youth with a strong digital presence.
The PML-N remains the leading contender for the upcoming elections. Although the elder Sharif holds the party’s top position, it’s uncertain which brother will lead the National Assembly if the PML-N wins sufficient seats.
Seats won in 2018: 64
Seats won in 2013: 126
PTI affiliates
The PTI, founded by cricketer-turned-politician Khan and currently led by Gohar Ali Khan, leans more to the centre right.
Khan won the 2018 elections and became the leader. However, after a few years, the military, which seemed to support him during the election, changed its stance. Khan was removed from his position through a no-confidence vote in parliament, marking the first time this has happened in Pakistan’s history.
Khan accuses the United States of conspiring with Pakistan’s military and his political rivals to throw him out, a charge they all deny. After his dismissal, Khan’s party led demonstrations across the country, demanding early elections.
However, the protests took an ugly turn when Khan was arrested in May on charges of corruption. His supporters went on a rampage, targeting civilian and military installations.
The unrest resulted in a brutal retaliation from the state. Hundreds of party leaders were forced to quit the PTI, thousands of its workers were arrested, and the party faced suppression.
Khan, who faces over 150 legal cases, has been found guilty of corruption and revealing state secrets. He could be sentenced to 14 years in prison. His party lost its symbol, the cricket bat, and its members must now run as independent candidates.
Even though the PTI faces challenges, it has a lot of support from people all over the country, which could help it succeed.
Seats won in 2018: 116
Seats won in 2013: 28
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)
The centre-left Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his father, Asif Ali Zardari, is striving to return to power for the first time since 2008.
The party was started by his mother’s father, who was also a former Prime Minister named Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Later, his mother, who served as Prime Minister twice, took over the leadership. Now, the 35-year-old Bhutto Zardari has a big responsibility to carry on the family legacy.
The scion of the Bhutto dynasty will be competing in his second election. He was foreign minister under PDM rule after Khan’s ouster in 2022.
Bhutto Zardari stands out as a young leader in an even younger nation — the median age is 20 in a country otherwise dominated by men in their 70s.
But he faces challenges, including criticism of his party’s governance of Sindh for the past four terms, especially after cataclysmic 2022 flooding, which destroyed much of the province.
His manifesto and campaign are focused on connecting with the youth of the country, and he has ambitious plans to combat climate change.
If he does become prime minister in a significant upset, he would be following in the footsteps of his mother, who first took the country’s top executive office in 1988 at the same age.
Seats won in 2018: 43
Seats won in 2013: 34
Awami National Party (ANP)
The Awami National Party, an ethnic Pashtun nationalist party based mainly in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, seeks to replace the PTI in the provincial government there.
The center-left party, led by Asfandyar Wali Khan, supports progressive and secular policies but has faced accusations of corruption. They have been out of power for almost twenty years.
The ANP was part of the 11-party PDM alliance.
Seats won in 2018: 1
Seats won in 2013: 2
Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P)
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement was the most powerful political force in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and economic backbone, for nearly three decades.
In the past, the MQM-P has always formed alliances with the parties leading the country nationally. It was in coalition with the PTI after the 2018 elections but switched loyalties over to the PDM after April 2022.
The MQM-P split in August 2016 into a London faction and a Pakistan faction after an incendiary speech by its exiled leader Altaf Hussain.
Yet when the chance to join the PDM alliance arose, the split factions and offshoots of the MQM-P reunited.
Past paramilitary operations targeting the party and its alleged connections to criminal enterprises in Karachi have broken its popularity Sindh province.
The party receives most of its support from Karachi and nearby cities. Many people moved to these areas after the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, forming significant communities there.
The MQM-P will battle PTI-affiliated independents, Jamaat-e-Islami, the PPP and young independent candidates to try and regain their base.
Seats won in 2018: 6
Seats won in 2013: 18
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)
Led by Siraj ul Haq, Jamaat-e-Islami is a right-wing party with its manifesto centred around religion.
One of Pakistan’s oldest political parties is well known for its strong party organisation, but it has failed to do well at the ballot box.
It has been out of power for decades, and its last success of any note was in the 2002 elections under the rule of President Pervez Musharraf, a general who took power in a coup.
The JI is targeting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and heavily focusing on Karachi with its relatively young leader, Hafiz Naeem.
Having done well in recent local elections in Karachi, the religious party is trying to promote a more moderate, development-centric agenda that it hopes will attract voters.
Seats won in 2018: 12 (in an alliance of religious parties)
Seats won in 2013: 2
Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI-F)
The right-wing Jumiat-e-Ulema Islam, led by Fazal-ur-Rehman, is also aiming to regain lost ground, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which it lost to the PTI.
The Muslim leader led the PDM alliance and plans to utilize his extensive network of religious schools to gain support and win votes.
Rehman, who has a lot of experience in Pakistani politics, is a clever political player. He knows how to build connections and form alliances, especially during the formation of a new government.
Seats won in 2018: 12 (in an alliance of religious parties)
Seats won in 2013: 11
Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP)
The Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party is a Pashtun nationalist group, mainly active in Balochistan province, where it was part of the ruling alliance in the last provincial government.
Led by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, PkMap is considered a progressive centre-left party in Pakistan’s most impoverished province, which also has the least number of national assembly seats (16).
The party seeks greater provincial autonomy and enhanced powers for the Senate, where all the provinces have equal representation.
Seats won in 2018: 0
Seats won in 2013: 3
Balochistan Awami Party (BAP)
The Balochistan Awami Party was formed in 2018 with current interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq one of its founders.
The party, since its inception, was seen as a group of disparate politicians belonging to various tribes of Balochistan, towing the line of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment. In the 2018 elections, the BAP formed an alliance with the PTI.
The party will contest at least 10 National Assembly seats, all from Balochistan, and is expected to be a powerbroker if major parties need partners to form a coalition government.
Seats won in 2018: 4
Seats won in 2013: n/a
Awami Workers Party (AWP)
The left-wing Awami Workers Party is a relatively newer and smaller movement in comparison to the other mainstream groups. It is campaigning on an anti-austerity plank.
While it provides an option to voters disillusioned with the existing political system in the country, it has just three candidates contesting National Assembly seats across the country, which limits its impact.
Seats won in 2018: 0
Seats won in 2013: 0
Haqooq-e-Khalq Party (HKP)
A new entrant in the 2024 polls, the socialist Haqooq-e-Khalq Party is fielding young candidates in PMLN strongholds in Lahore.
Similar to the AWP, the HKP struggles with financial resources to put up candidates in more constituencies and will be contesting from one city only with two National Assembly candidates and one provincial candidate.
Seats won in 2018: n/a
Seats won in 2013: n/a
Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP)
Formed in June, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party was founded by Jehangir Tareen, one of the richest businessmen in Pakistan and a close confidante and financier of Khan in the past.
Just a month after Khan’s PTI faced government action following the May 9 disturbances, the centrist party was formed. Many PTI leaders who quit the party soon came forward and declared their allegiance to the IPP.
The party consists mostly of candidates who are well-known and respected in their hometowns. They aim to secure sufficient seats in the elections to have a say in the formation of the upcoming government.
Seats won in 2018: n/a
Seats won in 2013: n/a
Independents
While the candidates remaining in the PTI have to run as independents due to legal woes afflicting the party, these polls will also see a large number of independents who are not linked to any party.
Some of the contestants used to be associated with the PTI before but now they’re running independently. Others are young candidates who aren’t tied to any major political parties.
In the past, independent candidates usually end up joining the party that has the most seats in the National Assembly.
Seats won in 2018: 13
Seats won in 2013: 27
Source: Aljazeera
