Pakistan General Elections: Feb. 8

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pakistan-parliament-dissolved-hold-national-election-rcna99169

Pakistan’s Parliament was dissolved by the president on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice late Wednesday night, the president’s office said, setting the stage for a national election amid political and economic crises.

The advice came three days ahead of the end of Parliament’s five-year term, which expires on Aug. 12. It will be followed with a caretaker administration to be picked by Sharif and an opposition leader in the outgoing Parliament to hold new elections in 90 days.

“I will tonight advise the president to dissolve the Parliament,” the premier had earlier said. He said he would start discussions with the opposition leader on Thursday to pick from candidates recommended from both sides to nominate as caretaker prime minister.

The vote, however, could be delayed several months with the election commission set to start redrawing hundreds of constituencies based on a fresh census.

Analysts have said any delay in the election could fuel public anger and add to uncertainty in the nuclear-armed nation.

[NewYorkExpress]

The leader of PTI, Shah Mahmood Quershi was detained in Islamabad.

The Pakistani opposition leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi was detained on Saturday, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said, just hours after he said it would challenge any delay to the country’s election in the courts.

Party spokesperson Zulfi Bukhari told Reuters the specific reason for the detention of Qureshi, twice Pakistan’s foreign minister, was not immediately clear. The caretaker information minister did not respond to a request for comment.

Bukhari condemned the arrest on the social media platform X, saying Qureshi was “arrested for doing a press conference and reaffirming PTI stance against all tyranny and pre-poll rigging that is going on currently in Pakistan”.

[jaichind]

Gallup
https://twitter.com/AsiaElects/status/1707477227385061383

Pakistan is mostly about Punjab where it is PTI vs PML(N) and Sindh where it is PTI vs PPP.  Ancient rivals PML(N) and PPP will team up this time to take on PTI
https://twitter.com/AsiaElects/status/1707797042863726955
https://twitter.com/AsiaElects/status/1707793684425797801

[Nhoj]

MQM seems to have successfully been exterminated I see.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

lmao at the PTI being described as 'centrists' hahahahahahaha!

[JimJamUK]

lmao at the PTI being described as 'centrists' hahahahahahaha!

What would be a better label?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

lmao at the PTI being described as 'centrists' hahahahahahaha!

What would be a better label?

Well it's a fascist party, so conventionally we would describe it as far right. Of course that's a little odd in Pakistan where 'far right' has usually (and correctly) been the label given to the Islamists, but, of course, there can be multiple far rights. Khan was a broadly centrist liberal when he entered politics, but that was a long time ago now.

[Oryxslayer]

lmao at the PTI being described as 'centrists' hahahahahahaha!

One of my main gripes with the elects twitters is they stick to the strick ideological categories when they are outside of the EU. Only in the EU do parties actually tie such policies that can only be explained in the local context to a blanket label, cause that label is necessary for EU elections. Elsewhere,  the applied labels are just opinion. And oftentimes it can't be captured by EU labels,  requiring such uninformative things as shown here

[Filuwaúrdjan]

This reminds me that I need to do an update of my big guide to Pakistan's political parties at some point, as there have been many changes since the last election.

[Vosem]

This reminds me that I need to do an update of my big guide to Pakistan's political parties at some point, as there have been many changes since the last election.

Looking forward to it; your last guide to the political parties of Pakistan served as a jumping-off point for me to learn more about that country, and it was a very absorbing piece of writing.

[jaichind]

https://www.livemint.com/news/world/pakistan-imran-khans-party-to-challenge-rejection-of-nomination-papers-for-2024-polls-today-11704084487595.html

"Pakistan: Imran Khan's party to challenge rejection of nomination papers for 2024 polls today"

Imran Khan's nomination papers were rejected "on moral grounds"

[oldtimer]

https://www.livemint.com/news/world/pakistan-imran-khans-party-to-challenge-rejection-of-nomination-papers-for-2024-polls-today-11704084487595.html

"Pakistan: Imran Khan's party to challenge rejection of nomination papers for 2024 polls today"

Imran Khan's nomination papers were rejected "on moral grounds"

Who do they think he is ?
Donald Trump ?

[jaichind]

https://www.livemint.com/news/world/pakistan-imran-khans-party-to-challenge-rejection-of-nomination-papers-for-2024-polls-today-11704084487595.html

"Pakistan: Imran Khan's party to challenge rejection of nomination papers for 2024 polls today"

Imran Khan's nomination papers were rejected "on moral grounds"

Who do they think he is ?
Donald Trump ?

I think Imran Khan and Trump are very similar.  Both were elected as outsiders but with clear tactical establishment support but tried to govern in a way that tried to co-op the establishment.  Both were ousted from power that were in theory legal but both rejected the process as illegitimate in practice. Both are trying to come back on a popular anti-system line and is expected to govern without the support of the establishment if they win.

[Vosem]

Uh, I decided to open the Wikipedia page for this election (...electoral-type event?) and it appears that the PTI has been prohibited from participating and that Nawaz Sharif ("what if James Buchanan had returned to the White House after the American Civil War") has returned to the country and is likely to win? Is there anyone knowledgeable about whatever the hell has been happening in Pakistan over the past few months?

[MRCVzla]

The general election (or "electoral-type event" if ends to be chaotic) will be on February 8th, Imran Khan' PTI has been originally de-facto "barred" to run (or better say, not allowing to run with its election symbol, a cricket batsman)  by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) because they asserted the party has failed to conduct intra-party elections in accordance with its constitution, the first decision became on December 22th, PTI challenged the same day the order appealing to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) then quickly a single-member bench suspended the order until January 9th, in December 30th the ECP submitted a review application, in the following days, the court lifted the suspension allowing PTI presenting a state of candidates in the majority of the 266 general seats (234 in total, 20 of them women), on January 10th, the PHC two-member bench declared the ECP's order as "illegal, without any lawful authority, and of no legal effect.", ECP's responded the day after contesting the rulling to the Supreme Court, two days later on January 13th a three-member bench of the SC sided with the ECP, reinstating their initial decision, as the PTI was unable to allocate party tickets to any of its candidates, resulting in all party candidates being listed as independent candidates with individual electoral symbols, the party decided to not boycott the election.

[jaichind]

PATTAN-Coalition 38 is civic and labor group coalition.  They are not pro-Khan but for sure are anti- establishment.  They have PTI leading PPP-PMLN 42 to 35

https://twitter.com/AsiaElects/status/1750862606913683883

[jaichind]

Punjab provincial election will also be on Feb 8th

[jaichind]

Uh, I decided to open the Wikipedia page for this election (...electoral-type event?) and it appears that the PTI has been prohibited from participating and that Nawaz Sharif ("what if James Buchanan had returned to the White House after the American Civil War") has returned to the country and is likely to win? Is there anyone knowledgeable about whatever the hell has been happening in Pakistan over the past few months?

PTI is not prohibited from participating.  But they are not allowed to use their election symbol based on a technicality.  So all PTI candidates need to run on separate symbols which de facto means they have to run as independents.   This does make it hard for them to win but they are participating.

[jaichind]

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pakistan-ex-pm-imran-khan-wife-get-14-years-jail-in-corruption-case-4964960

"Pakistan Ex-PM Imran Khan, Wife Get 14 Years Jail In Corruption Case"

[Logical]

The conviction is more likely to generate a sympathy wave for IK than hurt him but then again the election won't be free or fair.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The conviction is more likely to generate a sympathy wave for IK than hurt him but then again the election won't be free or fair.

They weren't last time either. But the thumbs will be on the scales in the opposite direction and doubtless heavier.

[jaichind]

The conviction is more likely to generate a sympathy wave for IK than hurt him but then again the election won't be free or fair.

They weren't last time either. But the thumbs will be on the scales in the opposite direction and doubtless heavier.

The main "thumb" would be that PTI will have to run without an election symbol so PTI voters would need to figure out who the PTI candidate is on the ballot.  PTI is planning to use social media to do this but the election commission is cracking down on political content on social media to prevent this from taking place.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

They have other methods at their disposal, frequently use them and will do so again.

[jaichind]

If this is the situation in Punjab then PTI clearly will lose and Nawaz Sharif's PML(N) will return to power.
https://twitter.com/AsiaElects/status/1754587302847033485

[jaichind]

BTW, the date of the election is Feb 8th and not TDB