Pakistan Elections 2024 LIVE: Voting beings today amid militant attacks, economic crisis

Feb 8, 2024 - 07:30

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07:18 (IST)

Pakistan Elections 2024 LIVE

173 seats for Punjab

Pakistan is made up of the Islamabad Capital Territory and the four provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

These provinces' populations are extremely suspicious, and as a result, their representation in the National Assembly is similarly apprehensive.

The most significant province is by far Punjab, with 141 seats (plus 32 seats allocated for women). Sindh (61 seats, plus 14 reserved), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (45 seats, plus 10 reserved), Balochistan (16 seats, plus 4 reserved), and Islamabad (3) are next in line.

07:08 (IST)

Pakistan Elections 2024 LIVE

60 seats reserved for women, 10 for non-Muslims

The National Assembly has set aside 60 seats for women and 10 seats for non-Muslims in addition to the 266 seats already specified.

Political parties receive these in accordance with how well they performed in the national elections.

07:06 (IST)

Pakistan Elections 2024 LIVE

266 directly-elected seats in National Assembly

In Pakistan's bicameral legislative system, the National Assembly is the lower chamber. Voters will be directly electing 266 MPs to the National Assembly. Similar to India, Pakistan also uses a first-past-the-post election system, where the candidate with the most votes in a particular constituency is chosen to represent it.

06:46 (IST)

Pakistan Elections 2024 LIVE

44% voters under age of 35

Pakistan is a youthful country, with a median age of just 20. This explains the gap between Pakistan's population and registered voters, as a large portion of the population has yet to reach the legal voting age of 18 in Pakistan.

Even among registered voters, 44% are under the age of 35, making the younger generation the most crucial demographic in the next elections.

06:41 (IST)

Pakistan Elections 2024 LIVE

128 million registered voters in Pakistan

Pakistan is the world's fifth most populated country, with a population of 241 million. Approximately 128 million people (69 million men and 59 million women) are registered voters, although turnout is expected to be substantially lower. The 2018 elections witnessed a voter turnout of less than 52%, with the greatest ever turnout, 61%, achieved in 1971.

06:26 (IST)

Pakistan Elections 2024 LIVE

Voting beings today amid militant attacks, economic crisis

Pakistan is set to vote on Thursday in an election marred by an increase in terrorist attacks, an economic downturn, and a sharply divided political landscape. Many analysts predict that no obvious winner will be declared.

The primary confrontations are anticipated to be between the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), led by three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and candidates supported by imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan, whose Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the last national election. The 35-year-old son of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has also waged a vigorous campaign as an independent candidate for the highest post.

While opponents and observers claim Sharif is receiving support from the generals, Khan believes the military is orchestrating a campaign of intimidation aimed at driving his party out of power.

Nearly 650,000 security personnel have been deployed across the nation as officials work to set up polling booths so that more than 12.85 crore registered voters may vote in the general election. The polling will begin at 8 a.m. and will continue uninterrupted until 5.00 p.m.