1988 Pakistani general election

16 November 1988
217 of the 237 seats in National Assembly 109 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	42.75%
First party Second party   Leader Benazir Bhutto Nawaz Sharif Party PPP IJI Seats won 94 56 Popular vote 7,546,561 5,908,742 Percentage 37.66% 29.48%
Map of Pakistan showing National Assembly Constituencies and winning parties
Prime minister before election Mohammad Khan Junejo Elected Prime minister Benazir Bhutto PPP

Politics of Pakistan
Federal government Constitution of Pakistan Previous constitutions:1956 1962 1973 Annex (written 1949, incorporated 1985) Amendments Law Human rights Pakistan Penal Code Law enforcement
Legislature Parliament of Pakistan National Assembly Leader of the House: Vacant Speaker: Raja Pervaiz Ashraf (PPP) Deputy speaker: Vacant Leader of the Opposition: Vacant Senate Chairman: Sadiq Sanjrani (BAP) Deputy Chairman: Mirza Muhammad Afridi (PTI) Leader of the House: Ishaq Dar (PML(N)) Opposition leader: Shahzad Waseem (PTI)
Executive President of Pakistan: Arif Alvi (PTI) List of presidents of Pakistan Prime Minister of Pakistan: Anwar ul Haq Kakar (Caretaker) List of prime ministers of Pakistan Cabinet of Pakistan Cabinet secretary
Judiciary Supreme Court of Pakistan Chief Justice: Umar Ata Bandial List of justices Judges appointment body: Supreme Judicial Council High courts: Islamabad, Punjab, Sindh, KPK, Balochistan, Shariat Court Territorial courts: AJK supreme court, AJK High court, Gilgit-Baltistan supreme court, Gilgit-Baltistan High Court Special courts: Anti Terrorism Courts, Accountability Courts District Courts
Elections Election Commission of Pakistan Chief Election Commissioner: Sikandar Sultan Raja Electoral College Territorial election commission AJK Election Commission Chief Election Commissioner of AJK: Abdul Rashid Sulehria Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission Chief Election Commissioner of Gilgit-Baltistan: Raja Shah Baz Khan Elections Presidential: 2008 2013 2018 General: 1970 1977 1985 1988 1990 1993 1997 2002 2008 2013 2018 Provincial elections Punjab: 2002 2008 2013 2018 Sindh: 2002 2008 2013 2018 KPK: 2002 2008 2013 2018 Balochistan: 2013 2018 Territorial elections Azad Kashmir: 1970 1975 1985 1990 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021 Gilgit-Baltistan: 2009 2015 2020 Political parties Pakistan Muslim League (N) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Pakistan Peoples Party Complete list
Administrative units Capital territory Islamabad Provinces Balochistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Punjab Sindh Autonomous region Azad Kashmir Gilgit-Baltistan
Federalism Federal government Provincial governments: Punjab Sindh KPK Balochistan Governors: Muhammad Baligh Ur Rehman(Pujab) Kamran Tessori(Sindh) Haji Ghulam Ali(KPK) Abdul Wali Kakar(Balochistan) Syed Mehdi Shah(Gilgit-Baltistan) Chief Ministers: Mohsin Raza Naqvi(Punjab) Maqbool Baqar(Sindh) Arshad Hussain Shah(KPK) Ali Mardan Khan Domki(Balochistan) Gulbar Khan(Gilgit-Baltistan) Provincial assemblies of Pakistan: Punjab Sindh KPK Balochistan Gilgi-Baltistan Azad Kashmir government President: Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry Prime Minister: Chaudhry Anwarul Haq Legislative Assembly Local government Divisions Districts Tehsil Union councils
Foreign relations Diplomacy Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Jalil Abbas Jilani (Caretaker) Diplomatic missions of / in Pakistan Customs Passport Visa requirements Visa policy Regional topics Kashmir conflict India China United States
Pakistan portal Other countries

General elections were held in Pakistan on 16 November 1988 to elect the members of the National Assembly and Senate.

The elections saw the resurgence of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter, Benazir. Supporters of President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who had died in August 1988, reorganised themselves into a nine-party alliance, the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) with support from the intelligence agencies.^[1] This marked the beginning of a decade-long two-party system between the left-wing PPP and right-wing IJI and its successor the Pakistan Muslim League (N).

The PPP emerged as the biggest party, winning 94 of the 207 seats in the National Assembly. The IJI came second with 56 seats amidst a voter turnout of just 43%. The PPP was able to form a government with other left-wing parties, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), with Bhutto becoming the first female Prime Minister in a Muslim country.

Background

Parliamentary elections had been held on 7 March 1977, with the PPP gaining a two-thirds majority. However, amid violence and civil disorder, Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq ousted the Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a military coup on 5 June, code-named Operation Fair Play. Martial law was lifted in 1985 when non-partisan and technocratic elections were held, resulting in Mohammad Junejo, a Sindhi lord, being appointed Prime Minister.

On 29 May 1988, the National Assembly which was elected in 1985 was dissolved prematurely by Zia, who also dismissed Junejo 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, on 2 October, following the accidental death of Zia on 17 August, the Supreme Court reversed the ban on parties and allowed the elections to be held on a party basis.

Campaign

A total of 1,370 candidates contested the National Assembly elections.^[3] The campaign lasted for a month and remained generally peaceful.^[2]

After Zia's death, the democratic socialists and secular parties re-united and campaigned under the PPP's platform led by Benazir Bhutto; previously Zia had crushed the socialists' Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, which had attempted to overthrow his military regime, and took extremely tough actions to further disintegrate the movement. The PPP campaign pledged to control and tackle the extremism in Pakistan, and as well as curb the power of the trade unions. The conservatives under Sharif on other hand campaigned upon expanding the industrialisation and privatisation program;

The liberal Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) did not formally contest the elections, but several of its members ran as independents.^[4][5][6]

Results

Despite allegations of vote rigging against the PPP, and the use of the ID card rule to keep its less well-organized and relatively less well-off supporters from voting, Bhutto won the election by a margin of over 8%, thus managing to defeat the nine-party alliance of IJI.

MQM members running as independents received 5.4% of the vote, winning 13 seats in Karachi and Hyderabad.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

The results in three Muslim constituencies were declared invalid; in the subsequent by-elections, the IJI won two seats and the PPP one. There were no candidates for the Ahmadi constituency.^[12]

Aftermath

In light of the election results, 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, Bhutto was elected as the first female Prime Minister of a Muslim country. The new Cabinet, headed by Bhutto was subsequently announced.^[2]

The MQM was pivotal in the formation of central government, as the PPP had failed to win a majority of seats. However, the MQM left the coalition in October 1989 when differences developed after dozens were killed at an MQM congregation by Sindhi nationalists, and the alliance fell apart in the wake of ensuing violence. The MQM lent its support to Nawaz Sharif’s Islami Jamhoori Ittehad instead.^[13]

References