Pakistani general election, 1977
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All 200 seats in the National Assembly 101 seats needed for a majority |
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| Turnout | 63.1% ( 0.1%) |
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Post abolished (until 1985)
Pakistan General elections of 1977 were held in Pakistan on 7 March 1977 to elect the 200 parliamentarians to both houses (Senate and National Assembly) of the Parliament of Pakistan. The general elections were the second elections held in the history of the country and the first after the split of the country.
The elections saw a massive victory for the ruling PPP against the PNA, which was an alliance of 9 parties who opposed Bhutto's regime. However, the PNA ended up accusing PPP rigging the elections into her favour. Such allegations were denied by PPP and Bhutto refused to hold any re-election. This sparked off unrest that resulted from mass demonstrations and violent anti-Bhutto protests. Bhutto and the security forces were unable to control the situation, thus, Martial Law became the last hope. Bringing the army into power is a dangerous game, as it highlights the weakness of government. Similarly, the Chief of Army Chief Gen. Zia-ul-Haq taking advantage of the government's weakness called a secret meeting of senior military officials to plan a coup. This plan was successfully executed when the government was overthrown, Parliament was dissolved and Pakistan came under its second period of Military rule.
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 on national 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.
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