Provincial elections were held in the

Pakistani province The administrative units of Pakistan comprise four provinces, one federal territory, and two disputed territories: the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan; the Islamabad Capital Territory; and the administrativ ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

on 11 May 2013, alongside nationwide

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

and three other provincial elections in

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

and

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. The remaining two territories of Pakistan,

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger ...

and

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

, were ineligible to vote due to their disputed status.

Background

The 2013 elections resulted in a

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...

, before

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...

, National Party, and

Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party The Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (; ), abbreviated as PMAP or PKMAP, is a political party in Pakistan's Balochistan province. It was founded by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who was elected as the chairman, and Sher Ali Bacha, who served as the General ...

joined hands to form a coalition government. A power-sharing agreement was also brokered between PML-N and NP where the province's Chief Ministership tenure would be bifurcated between the two parties. In consequence, NP's Abdul Malik Baloch served as chief minister from 2013 to 2015 before he was replaced by PML-N's Sanaullah Khan Zehri at the end of 2015. However, Zehri couldn't complete his term as on 2 January 2018, a number of dissident members from the ruling PML-N colluded with opposition lawmakers to submit a

no-confidence motion A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

against him. Seeing that he has lost the majority of the house's support in the ensuing turmoil, Zehri resigned from his post before a no-confidence vote could take place.

Pakistan Muslim League (Q) The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League" (officially registered as the Pakistan Muslim League) is a political party in Pakistan. As of the 2024 parliamentary e ...

's,

Abdul Quddus Bizenjo Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo (; born 1 January 1970) is a Pakistani politician who served as the Chief Minister of Balochistan province of Pakistan from 29 October 2021 till 18 August 2023. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan. ...

, an opposition lawmaker and one of the leaders of the no-confidence bloc, was elected as the province's 15th Chief Minister. He secured 41 of the 65 votes.

Results

References

{{Constituencies of Balochistan Assembly 2013 elections in Pakistan Elections in Balochistan