2023 Punjab Provincial Election
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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 ...
of
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 ...
on 8 February 2024 to elect a new provincial legislature. On 5 August 2023, the results of the 2023 digital census were approved by the
Council of Common Interests The Council of Common Interests (CCI) () is a constitutional body in the Government of Pakistan. It is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The CCI resolves the disputes of power sharing between the federation and its ...
headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Therefore, elections have been delayed for several months, as new delimitations will be published on 14 December 2023, as announced by the
Election Commission of Pakistan The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, local g ...
(ECP). On 2 November 2023, the ECP announced, in agreement with the
President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.
,
Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi () is a Pakistani politician who served as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office from 2018 to 2024. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2018 and again from August to September 2018. ...
, that the elections will be held on 8 February 2024. The election was held concurrently with nationwide general elections and other provincial elections.


Background

In the 2018 election, the
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...
(PTI) emerged as the largest party in the
Provincial Assembly of Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, also known as the Punjab Assembly, is the supreme Legislature, legislative body of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. It convenes at the #Assembly building, A ...
after 25 independents joined it. However, the PTI was still 2 seats short of a majority. After the
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 ...
(PML(Q)) agreed to support the PTI, they formed a coalition government in the province. The
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 ...
(PML(N)) emerged as the second largest party and formed the opposition. During a political crisis in Pakistan after the successful
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 Prime Minister
Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...
, another motion of no confidence was filed against
Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
Usman Buzdar Sardar Usman Ahmed Khan Buzdar (; born 1 May 1969) is a Pakistani politician who was Chief Minister of Punjab, Pakistan, Chief Minister of Punjab from 20 August 2018 to 30 April 2022. Buzdar was a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab fro ...
, as well as against
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Warraich (Urdu, ; born 1 November 1945) is a Pakistani politician who was the Chief Minister of Punjab from late 2002 to late 2007 and again from late 2022 to early 2023. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly of ...
and Dost Muhammad Mazari, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Provincial Assembly, respectively. Buzdar resigned before a vote on the motion of no confidence could be held and as a consequence, an election for a new Chief Minister was scheduled on 16 April between PML(N)'s
Hamza Shahbaz Mian Hamza Shahbaz Sharif (born 6 September 1974) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the chief minister of Punjab from April 2022 to July 2022. Previously, he served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Assem ...
, the joint candidate of the
Pakistan Democratic Movement The Pakistan Democratic Movement (; PDM) was a coalition of List of political parties in Pakistan, political parties in Pakistan. It was founded in September 2020 as a political movement, opposition movement against Imran Khan, accusing his I ...
(PDM), and PML(Q)'s Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the joint candidate of his party and PTI. On the day of the election, 25 PTI MPAs crossed the floor to support Shahbaz, violating party policy. During the very beginning of the Assembly session on 16 April, a riot began between PTI and PML-N supporters. PTI MPAs threw ewers at the Deputy Speaker, as well as slapping him. The police entered the Assembly for the first time in its history and arrested 3 MPAs. The Deputy Speaker then presided over the Assembly session in the visitors gallery and declared Shahbaz the winner by securing 197 votes. After the floor crossing, the
Election Commission of Pakistan The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, local g ...
(ECP) de-seated 25 dissident PTI MPAs for defection in the light of Article 63-A of the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
of the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
on 20 May 2022. Five of these MPAs were elected on reserved seats (3 for women and 2 for minorities) and new PTI MPAs were notified on these seats on 7 July.
By-elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
were held on 17 July 2022 to elect the remaining 20 members. The PTI won in a landslide, emerging victorious on 15 of those 20 seats, leading to the collapse of Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz's
PML-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 ...
led coalition government, as their coalition became 7 seats short of a majority. Elahi took oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab on 27 July 2022, leading a PTI-PML(Q) coalition government. On 12 January 2023, after winning a vote of confidence the night before, Elahi sent a letter to
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Baligh Ur Rehman, advising him to dissolve the Provincial Assembly. Rehman excused himself from the dissolution process and after 48 hours, the Assembly automatically stood dissolved. Elections must be conducted within 90 days of the dissolution, meaning by or before 14 April 2023. On 22 January 2023,
Mohsin Raza Naqvi Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi (born 28 October 1978) is a Pakistani politician and media mogul who has served as Ministry of Interior (Pakistan) 13 June 2025 to 11 March 2024 and the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board since 6 February 2024. He is ...
took oath as the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab. He was nominated by the
Election Commission of Pakistan The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, local g ...
(ECP) after days of deadlock between the government and the opposition over who to nominate. On 10 February 2023, after weeks of no announcement of an election date, the
Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...
(LHC) ordered the ECP to immediately announce the date for the elections to "ensure that heyare held not later than ninety days as per the mandate of the Constitution". On 20 February 2023, the ECP had still not announced the date for the election. Therefore,
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi () is a Pakistani politician who served as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office from 2018 to 2024. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2018 and again from August to September 2018. ...
decided to unilaterally appoint 9 April 2023 as the election date. On 1 March 2023, in a 3-2 split verdict, the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
ruled that President Alvi's order of appointing an election date was "constitutionally competent", as the Assembly was dissolved without the order of Governor Rehman. However, the verdict further stated that due to the delays in the announcement of the election date, 9 April may not be a feasible election date. Therefore, the ECP was ordered to immediately propose a date with the "minimum possible delay" to the President and after consultation, the latter shall announce a date for the election. As a result of the verdict, on 3 March 2023, the ECP had suggested the dates of 30 April to 7 May to President Alvi and on the same day, the latter announced that the provincial election will be held on 30 April 2023. On 22 March 2023, in violation of the Supreme Court's verdict, the ECP postponed the provincial election to 8 October 2023, stating that it had arrived at the conclusion that it could not hold the elections "honestly, justly, fairly, in a peaceful manner and in a accordance with the Constitution and law". On 25 March 2023, Sibtain Khan, the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, filed a constitutional petition on behalf of the PTI against the ECP's decision. Additionally, a contempt of court petition was also filed against the ECP. On 4 April, the Supreme Court ruled that the ECP's decision to postpone the polls was unconstitutional and itself fixed 14 May 2023 as the new date for the election. Despite the orders of the Supreme Court, the ECP had not conducted the elections on 14 May and had instead petitioned the Supreme Court to review its 4 April decision, claiming that they " on'thave the authority to give the date of elections".


Ban on PTI from contesting as a party

On 22 December 2023, the ECP decided against letting the PTI retain its electoral symbol, arguing that the party had failed to hold intra-party elections. On 22 December, the PTI approached the
Peshawar High Court The Peshawar High Court (PHC, ) is the provincial and highest judicial institution of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. It is located in the provincial capital Peshawar. The Parliament passed a bill extending the jurisdiction of the Supreme Cour ...
(PHC) against the ECP's order and hence, a single-member bench suspended the ECP's order until 9 January 2024. On 30 December 2023, the ECP filed a review application within the PHC, and days later, a two-member bench withdrew the suspension order as it heard the case. However, on 10 January 2024, the two-member bench had declared the ECP's order to be "illegal, without any lawful authority, and of no legal effect. On 11 January, the ECP challenged this ruling in the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, and on 13 January, a three-member bench ruled in favor of the ECP and stripped the PTI of its electoral symbol. As a consequence of this ruling, the PTI could not allot party tickets to any of its candidates. Therefore, all candidates of the party will be listed as
independent candidates An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...
and each will have a different electoral symbol.


Schedule

The schedule of the election was announced by the
Election Commission of Pakistan The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, local g ...
on 15 December 2023.


Electoral system

The 371 seats of the Punjab Assembly consist of 297 general seats, whose members are elected by the
first-past-the-post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
voting system runs through single-member constituencies. 66 seats are reserved for women and 8 seats are reserved for non-Muslims. The members on these seats are elected through proportional representation based on the total number of general seats secured by each political party.


Campaign


Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf


Joining of former PML(Q) MPAs

A day after the Assembly was dissolved, the
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 ...
(PML(Q)) Punjab president and outgoing
Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
,
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Warraich (Urdu, ; born 1 November 1945) is a Pakistani politician who was the Chief Minister of Punjab from late 2002 to late 2007 and again from late 2022 to early 2023. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly of ...
, hinted at a possible merger of the PML(Q) with the
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...
(PTI). As a consequence, the president of the PML(Q) and former
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
,
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain (born 27 January 1946) is a senior Pakistani politician who previously served as 16th prime minister of Pakistan. Hussain is the party president of the PML(Q) since 2003. Hailing from the business-industrialist Chaudh ...
, who is also Elahi's cousin, issued him a show-cause notice and suspended his party membership. On the other hand, the office-bearers of the PML(Q)'s electoral college authorized Elahi to take decisions on behalf of the party, in regards to the potential merger. On 21 February 2023, after failing in his attempts to merge the PML(Q) with the PTI, Elahi, along with all other nine former PML(Q) MPAs, joined the PTI.


General campaign

The PTI announced that it would start its election campaign on 8 March 2023.
Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...
, the former
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
and the Chairman of the PTI, stated that party workers will start arranging corner meetings and rallies across all
districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
of
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 ...
. Khan also said that he will suggest solutions to problems caused by the incumbent PDM-led federal government. On 8 March 2023, the PTI attempted to start its campaign by taking out a rally from Khan's residence at Zaman Park to
Data Darbar Data Darbar () is an Islamic shrine located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the largest Sufi shrine in South Asia. It was built to house the remains of al-Hujwiri, commonly known as ''Data Ganj Baksh'' or more colloquially as ''Data Sahab'', ...
. However, just prior to the start of the rally, a ban on public gatherings was imposed in the provincial capital of
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
and dozens were taken into police custody for violating the ban. Due to the increased violence, Khan called off the rally. One PTI worker, Ali Bilal, also lost his life in the violence, with Khan claiming the Punjab police had murdered Bilal. On 12 March 2023, Khan once more announced to hold a rally in Lahore but a ban on public gatherings by the PTI was again imposed in the city. The PTI was finally allowed to hold the rally on 13 March 2023 starting from Khan's residence at Zaman Park to
Data Darbar Data Darbar () is an Islamic shrine located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the largest Sufi shrine in South Asia. It was built to house the remains of al-Hujwiri, commonly known as ''Data Ganj Baksh'' or more colloquially as ''Data Sahab'', ...
. Moreover, in his address to thousands of party workers and rally attendees, Khan announced that the party would hold a grand "power show" at the
Minar-e-Pakistan Minar-e-Pakistan (; ) is a public monument tower located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The tower was built during 1960–1968 on the site where on 23 March 1940, the All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution which was later called the ...
on 19 March. On 19 March, the
Pakistan Muslim League (Z) Pakistan Muslim League (Zia), informally referred to as the Zia League, is an Islamist right-wing political party in Pakistan. Named after Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the sixth president of Pakistan, the party is headquartered in Bahawalnagar. The p ...
, a minor political party based in Bahawalnagar, was merged into the PTI by its president, Ijaz-ul-Haq, the son of the former
President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.
Zia-Ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also served as the second chief of ...
. On 23 March, the
Awami Raj Party Jamshed Dasti (; born 15 February 1972) is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan between 2008 and 2018 and win elections in 2023 for National Assembly of Pakistan from NA 175 as an independent candida ...
, a minor political party based in
Muzaffargarh Muzaffargarh is a city in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the bank of the Chenab River, it is the capital of the eponymous district. It is the 39th most populous city of Pakistan. History The Muzaffargarh region was an agricultura ...
, was merged into the PTI by its chairman and leader Jamshed Dasti. On 25 March, after two postponements, the PTI held its public rally at the Minar-e-Pakistan. Imran Khan had delivered a lengthy speech where he outlined a 10-point programme which he said would pull Pakistan out of its economic crisis. This programme included policies such as promoting tourism, expanding the minerals sector, reintroducing welfare programs, and enlarging the tax net. On 20 April, the PTI had finalised a list candidates for most of the 297 constituencies of the Provincial Assembly.


Opinion polls


Results


Result by Party


Results by Region

https://elections.dunyanews.tv/election2024/election_result_detail.php?assembly=punjab


Results by division


Results by district


Results by constituency


See also

*
2024 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election Provincial elections were held in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 8 February 2024 to elect members of the 12th Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On 5 August 2023, the results of the 2023 digital census were approved by ...
*
2024 Sindh provincial election Provincial elections were held in Sindh on 8 February 2024 to elect a new provincial legislature. On 5 August 2023, after the approval of the results of the 2023 digital census by the Council of Common Interests headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz ...
*
2024 Balochistan provincial election Provincial elections were held in Balochistan on 8 February 2024 to elect a new provincial legislature. On 5 August 2023, after the approval of the results of the 2023 digital census by the Council of Common Interests headed by Prime Minister S ...
*
2024 Pakistani general election General elections, originally scheduled to be held in 2023, were held in Pakistan on 8 February 2024 to elect the members of the List of members of the 16th National Assembly of Pakistan, 16th National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly. The ...


Notes


References

{{Punjab, Pakistan elections Punjab provincial election Punjab provincial election Elections in Punjab, Pakistan