2013 Pakistani by-elections
Pakistani by election in 2013 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On May 11, 2013, Pakistan held by-elections to fill 10 vacant seats in each of the four provincial assemblies and 29 vacant seats in the country's National Assembly. Following the 2013 general elections, in which the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won the most seats in the National Assembly (166), the elections were held.[2]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 seats National Assembly 15 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Turnout | 00.0%[1](10.68pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Results by constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The 2013 Pakistani by-elections were held for 15 various seats in the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies. The by-elections were held to fill the seats vacated by the death, resignation, or disqualification of the elected representatives.
The PML-N government had been in power for a little over a year, and the by-elections were widely considered as a referendum on its performance. 18 of the 29 seats in the National Assembly and 7 of the 10 open seats in the provincial assemblies were won by the PML-N. Six seats in the National Assembly and two in the provincial assemblies were gained by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) won 2 National Assembly seats.
Allegations of rigging and violence plagued the by-elections. Violence associated with the elections claimed at least 12 lives. Due to irregularities, the Pakistani Election Commission (ECP) rejected the results for two National Assembly seats.
The PML-N's position in the government was bolstered by the results of the by-elections, which gave it a solid majority in the National Assembly. The violence and claims of vote-rigging, however, cast a shadow over the polls and called into doubt the legitimacy of Pakistan's electoral system.