Pakistan 2013

[Famous Mortimer]

and Tahir-ul-Qadri's party boycotted, for what it's worth.

[Famous Mortimer]

Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad, a former member of PML-N and PML-Q elected for his new one man party, the Awami Muslim League.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Figures on Dawn's site are:

PML-N 128
PPP - 33
PTI - 30
Ind - 25
MQM - 15
JUI-F - 7
JI - 4
NPP - 2
PML-F 2
AML - 1
ANP - 1
APML - 1
PKMAP - 1
QWP - 1

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Anyway, I hope I'm wrong but this is a bit of a disaster, isn't it? Based on past performance Nawaz Sharif is barely capable of running a bath, let alone Pakistan.

[minionofmidas]

That's actually a narrow majority.

Based on past performance Nawaz Sharif is barely capable of running a bath, let alone Pakistan.

It's not as if anything better than a complete incompetent could be reasonably hoped for.

Or as if Pakistan's parliament and prime minister have any power. The important people in Pakistan are the chiefs of staff of two armies, Pakistani and American.

[Famous Mortimer]

Figures on Dawn's site are:

PML-N 128
PPP - 33
PTI - 30
Ind - 25
MQM - 15
JUI-F - 7
JI - 4
NPP - 2
PML-F 2
AML - 1
ANP - 1
APML - 1
PKMAP - 1
QWP - 1

NNP is the National People's Party, a centrist (bribable) break-away from the PPP. One of their candidates that won was party leader Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, son of Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, party founder, former PPP chief-minister of Sindh, and breifly caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan.

ANP is of course the Awami National Party.

APML is the All Pakistan Muslim League, Musharraf's party, which was boycotting.

QWP is the Qaumi Watan Party, formerly Pakistan Peoples Party–Sherpao, a Pashtun nationalist PPP break-away. Their leader and former namesake Aftab Ahmad Sherpao won his seat. He was an incumbent.

[Famous Mortimer]

Random fun fact I'll forcibly insert into this conversation. You would think, given the media narrative the last couple of years, that Pashtun nationalists would be fundamentalists. Actually though, prior to the formation of the Taliban in 1994, Pashtun ethnic consciousness was a predominantly left-wing ideology. If you look at the Afghan Soviet War, most of the Afghan Communists were Pashtuns and most of the Mujaheddin were from Northern ethnic minorities. Going back before that, the Soviet Union often tried to rile up Pashtun nationalist feelings as a way to destabilize pro-American Pakistan. That's not to say that the majority of Pashtuns weren't always backwards hicks, it's just until recently, the backwards hicks had never been politically organized.

I don't think the Pashtun parties that won are left-wing, more just corruption based, but if you're like most people who associates "Pashtun" with "Taliban" even that seems remarkable. 

[Famous Mortimer]

In the provincial elections:

PML-N has kept control of Punjab.

PPP is maintaining a plurality in Sindh although many seats are still out.

In a big story, PKMAP has won a plurality in Balochistan. Independents are the second largest group and PML-N is in third. Last time, PML-Q and PPP were the biggest parties and PPP led the government.

In an even bigger story, PTI has taken control of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the Awami National Party. Before the ANP, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was ruled by the MMA (an Islamist alliance of JI and JUI-F). So clearly this province just votes for whoever the hot third force of the moment is.

[minionofmidas]

That's not to say that the majority of Pashtuns weren't always backwards hicks, it's just until recently, the backwards hicks had never been politically organized.

Of course they have been. By the INC, back in the pre-partition days. Which is the root of the tradition you're referring to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan

[Famous Mortimer]

Anybody know what the one constituency that hasn't been called yet is?

[Famous Mortimer]

PKMAP, PLM-N (now the second largest party), and the National Party (a Baloch nationalist party) form a government in Balochistan. PML-N will be given the position of chief minister.

PPP and MQM continue their grand coalition in Sindh.

[Famous Mortimer]

With more independents switching, PML-N now has a majority on its own.

[Famous Mortimer]

Wikipedia is now listing full results including every single party that registered, from the PML-N with 14,000,000 votes all the way down to Pakistan Awami Inqalab who got 7:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistani_general_election,_2013

Even more awesomely, it looks like Wikipedia is going to have a page for every single National Assembly constituency which will have results from at least 2013 and 2008:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pakistan_National_Assembly_seats

Really fun stuff to look at.

Some of the interesting stuff I discovered. The one Awami National Party candidate who won wasn't party leader Asfandyar Wali Khan (grandson of the previously mentioned Pashtun nationalist Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan), it was outgoing NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti.

One of the two PML-Q candidates who got elected was former Panjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

I can't figure out who the other PML-Qer was though. He's probably mislabeled as PML-N. Zia ul-Haq junior is also mislabeled as such, should be PML-Z, obviously.

[Famous Mortimer]

The National People's Party has merged with PML-N.

[Famous Mortimer]

Why is no one commenting on this stuff? It's awesome.

Here's a typo-ridden guide to Pakistan parties I made:

Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz: Centre-right political party, strongest support in Panjab, Pakistan's most populous province.

Pakistan People's Party: Centre-left generic social democratic party with secularist tendencies. Most popular among indigenous and rural people in the coastal province of Sindh.

Tehreek-e-Insaf: Vague bull**** party founded by a celebrity. Ran on anti-corruption, pro-economy platform. Has taken most of its support from the PPP and liberal Awami National Party. Now controls the North West Frontier Province.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement: United National Movement, formerly known as the Muhajir Qaumi Movement. Represents Muhajirs, people who emigrated from India. Specifically it represents rich Indian Muslims who voluntarily moved to Pakistan upon its creation. Although these people started out as patriotic pioneers, once getting to Pakistan, they didn't much like the hick-ish Sindh and self segregated in Karachi. The MQM tries to be a national party (hence the name change) but really no one votes for them outside Karachi. There are Muhajirs in other parts of the country but most of them were poor people who were forced to leave India because of rioting. Most of them live right over the Indian border in Panjab and are assimilated. The MQM is secular and economically liberal, owing to the social status of its members.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam - Fazal: Assembly of Islamic Clergy. Very conservative Islamist (but not Salafi) party with leftist economic tendencies. Was previous part of the MMA (Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, United Council of Action) Islamist coalition but that broke up when it wanted to support a PPP government. Very anti-America but apparently their leader and namesake Fazal-ur-Rehman is said to be on good terms with American diplomats. Main opposition in North West Frontier Provence.

Jamaat-e-Islami: Islamic Party. Previously member of the MMA alliance with JUI-F. Slightly more moderate religiously. Centre-right economically. Linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and thus comparable to the Freedom and Justice Party in Egypt and the Renaissance Party in Tunisia.

Awami National Party: People's National Party. Emerged from the historic National Awami Party, a liberal Pashtun nationalist group. Pashtun nationalism was crushed by various military governments, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government, and then become a non-entity with the Islamization of the politics in the 1980s. In free elections in 2002, the MMA won control of the North West Frontier Province. Their Taliban like social policies led to a backlash though, and in 2008, the Awami National Party won provincial elections and returned as a player on the national stage. Unfortunately for them, PTI took all but one of their national seats and most of their provincial ones.

Pakhtun-khwa Milli Awami Party: Pashtun National People's Party. An explicitly Pashtun nationalist party. Wants to create a new province for Pashtuns cut out of Balochistan, the NWFP, and the Federally Administered (lol) Tribal Areas. Largest party in Balochistan. Previously allied with the PPP on the national level. Now rules Balochistan in a coalition with the PML-N.

Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid-e-Azam: Quaid-e-Azam means great leader and refers to Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah. It was created by Pervez Musharraf in an attempt to unite all the Pakistan Muslim League factions that weren't loyal to Nawaz Sharif. A socially moderate party, it has since broken with Musharraf and become a satellite of the PPP. Also, lost all but 2 seats. Musharraf has since founded a new party called the All Pakistan Muslim League. It boycotted the election though so it's unknown if Musharraf is still a big pull and if PML-Q could have stayed a big player by not breaking with him. The APML did manage to win 1 seat despite its boycott.

Pakistan Muslim League - Zia-ul-Haq: Faction of the PML that idolizes 80s Islamist flavored military dictator Zia-ul-Haq. It's only member of the National Assembly is Zia-ul-Haq's son.

Pakistan Muslim League - Functional: Faction of the PML representing the Hurs, a Sufi sect living in Sindh. Alligned with the PML-N against the PPP, their regional competitor.

Balochistan National Party: A party for an independent Balochistan.

National Party: A party for an independent Balochistan but one currently in coalition at the state level with Pakhtun-khwa Milli Awami Party and the PML-N.

National Peoples Party: Centrist breakaway from the PPP. Merged with PML-N in the last week.

Qaumi Watan Party: Pashtun nationalist breakaway from the PPP. Musharraf has been accused of assassinating on of their leaders, Akbar Bugti, former governor of Balochistan.

[politicus]

Why is no one commenting on this stuff? It's awesome.

I think there is a general feeling that Pakistan is imploding/self destroying no matter what and controlled by the army anyway, so it doesn't matter who wins or what happens in parliamentary politics.

This is probably much too simplistic, but if there is no real hope of improvement and no "heroes" to side with the interest wanes.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Think the word 'clientelist' needs to appear in a couple of places.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Map here: http://dawn.com/constituency-profile-party-position/

[Famous Mortimer]

Nawaz officially elected PM with 244 votes.

PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim won 42 votes.

PTI candidate Javed Hashmi (who was the PML-N stand in leader for Nawaz in 2002) won 31.

[Famous Mortimer]

and tomorrow the PM's brother Shahbaz Sharif will be re-elected Chief Minister of Punjab.

The PTI and the PML-Q will field a joint candidate against him although obviously that's just trivia.