Responses to Information Requests

​​​​​​​Responses to Information Requests (RIRs) are research reports on country conditions. They are requested by IRB decision-makers.

The database contains a seven-year archive of English and French RIRs. Earlier RIRs may be found on the European Country of Origin Information Network website.

RIR​s published by the IRB on its website may have attachments that are inaccessible due to technical constraints and may include translations of documents originally written in languages other than English or French. To obtain a copy of such attachments and/or translated version of the RIR attachments, please email us.​

Related Links

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Responses to Information Requests (RIRs) cite publicly accessible information available at the time of publication and within time constraints. A list of references and additional sources consulted are included in each RIR. Sources cited are considered the most current information available as of the date of the RIR.            

RIRs are not, and do not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Rather, they are intended to support the refugee determination process. More information on the methodology used by the Research Directorate can be found here.          

The assessment and weight to be given to the information in the RIRs are the responsibility of independent IRB members (decision-makers) after considering the evidence and arguments presented by the parties.           

The information presented in RIRs solely reflects the views and perspectives of the sources cited and does not necessarily reflect the position of the IRB or the Government of Canada.          

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or record-keeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

3 February 2004

PAK42342.E

Pakistan: The results of the National Assembly elections and Provincial Assembly elections, including the results of individual constitutencies, which were held in October 2002
Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Ottawa

National Assembly Elections

In August 2002, the Legal Framework Order was enacted to increase the size of the National Assembly-the lower house of the federal legislature-from 217 seats to 342 seats (Europa 2003, 3206). The increased size provides 272 seats for members who are directly elected, 60 seats for female members and 10 seats for non-Muslim members (ibid.). The term of membership in the National Assembly was also reduced from five to four years (ibid.).

The following chart, taken from the November 2002 edition of The Herald, provides information on the final National Assembly seat positions by political party following the October 2002 elections (Nov. 2002b, 62).

Nov. 2002b, 62)." border="1">
Party General Seats Independents Women's Seats Minorities Total
PML(Q) 78 13 22 4 117
PPPP 62 1 15 2 80
MMA 45 1 12 2 60
PML(N) 15 0 3 1 19
MQM 13 0 3 1 17
NA 13 0 3 0 16
IND 30 0 0 0 15
OTHER 15 0 2 0 17
TOTAL 271 15 60 10 341

The category "other" includes the following: five seats for Pakistan Muslim League - Functional Group (PML(F)), three seats for Pakistan Muslim League - Junegjo Faction (PML(J)), two seats for Pakistan People's Party - Sherpao Faction (PPP(S)), one seat for Haqiqi Mohajir Quami Movement (MQM(H)), one seat for Baluch National Party (BNP), one seat for Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), one seat for Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), one seat for Pakistan Muslim League (PML(Z)), one seat for Pakistan Shia Political Party (PSPP) and one seat for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) (The Herald Nov. 2002b, 62). At the time the above-cited chart was published, re-polling in constituency NA-262 had not been completed (ibid.). For additional information related to the National Assembly election results, please refer to the attached excerpt of the November 2002 article from The Herald.

For information on the National Assembly election results by constituency, please refer to the attached chart, which contains information extracted from articles by Dawn and The Herald, and which was compiled by the Research Directorate. The name of the constituency and of the winning candidate is provided where available.

Provincial Assembly Elections

Pakistan is composed of four provinces (North West Frontier Province, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan), the federal capital of Islamabad and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) (Europa 2003, 3206). Each province has an appointed governor and provincial government (ibid.), which includes a provincial assembly (BBC 12 Dec. 2002). In addition to amending the size of and term of membership in the National Assembly, the Legal Framework Order that was enacted in August 2002 also reduced the term of membership in provincial assemblies to four years (Europa 2003, 3206).

In the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the Muttahida Majlis-I-Amal (MMA) was successful in winning the majority of the 99 provincial assembly seats during the October 2002 elections (The Herald Nov. 2002b, 63). In Sindh province however, the majority of the provincial assembly seats were won by the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), which captured 51 of the 130 seats (ibid.). The Pakistan Muslim League - Qaid-I-Azam Group (PML(Q)) won 167 of the 297 provincial assembly seats in the province of Punjab, and 15 of the 51 seats in Balochistan province (ibid.). The MMA won 14 seats in Balochistan, only second to the PML(Q) (ibid.). For more detailed information on the party composition of the provincial assemblies, please refer to the attached excerpt of the November 2002 article from The Herald.

For information on the Provincial Assembly election results for NWFP, Punjab and Sindh by constituency, please refer to the attached charts, which contain information extracted from articles by Dawn, and which were compiled by the Research Directorate. Only constituencies for which information was available are listed. Constituency results for the province of Balochistan could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

BBC. 12 December 2002. "Pakistan's Final Assembly Sworn In." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2571037.stm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

Dawn [Karachi]. 19 October 2002. "6 New Faces Elected From Swabi." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/19/nat17.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 15 October 2002. "Qazi, Fazl, Sherpao to Vacate Extra Seats." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/15/nat14.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002a. "PPP Candidate Triumphs in Murree." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat18.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002b. "Iftikhar Gilani Defeated in Kohat." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat24.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002c. "MMA Sweeps NA Seats in Balochistan." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat9.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002d. "PML-Q, MMA Share Hazara Seats." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat10.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002e. Shafiq Ahmad. "Eight Fata Seats Go to MMA Supporters." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat11.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002f. "PPP Dominates in Rawalpindi District." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat14.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002g. Nadeem Saeed. "PPP Re-Emerges in Southern Punjab." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat15.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002h. M.B. Kalhoro. "PPP Retains Larkana Stronghold." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat17.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002i. Yaqoob Malik. "PML-Q Grabs 3 NA, 5 PA Seats In Attock." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat19.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002j. "PPP Finishes Second in Lahore." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat16.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002k. Wajahat Ijaz. "Chaudhrys Sweep the Board." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat20.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002l. "PML(Q) Replaces N-League on Punjab Throne." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat21.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 12 October 2002m. Zulfiqar Memon. "PPP Secures All Seats in Nawabshah." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/12/nat27.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 11 October 2002. "Low Turnout in Frontier: Peaceful Polling Witnessed." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/11/nat7.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

_____. 10 October 2002. "104 In the Run for 15 Seats in Peshawar." <http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/10/nat11.htm> [Accessed 23 Jan. 2004]

The Europa World Year Book 2003. 2003. 44th ed. Vol. II. "Pakistan." London: Europa Publications.

The Herald [Karachi]. November 2002a. M. Ilyas Khan and Azizullah Khan. "Meet the Maulanas."

_____. November 2002b. "Votes and Development."

_____. November 2002c. "The Big."

_____. November 2002d. "The Herald 272 Colours of Victory."

_____. October 2002. Syed Hassan Abbas Kazmi. "Shifting Sands: District Profiles."

Additional Sources Consulted

Dialog/WNC

The High Commission of Pakistan, in Ottawa, did not respond to a letter requesting information.

Internet sites, including:

Elections Around the World

Election Commission of Pakistan (non-operational)

European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI)

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

Search engine:

Google

Attachments

The Herald [Karachi]. November 2002. "Votes and Development." pp. 62-63.

_____. October 2002. Syed Hassan Abbas Kazmi. "Shifting Sands: District Profiles." p. 43.

"October 2002 National Assembly Election Results by Constituency." Data compiled from articles by Dawn and The Herald.

"October 2002 Provincial Assembly Election Results by Constituency: North West Frontier Province." Data compiled from articles by Dawn.

"October 2002 Provincial Assembly Election Results by Constituency: Punjab." Data compiled from articles by Dawn.

"October 2002 Provincial Assembly Election Results by Constituency: Sindh." Data compiled from articles by Dawn.

​​
​​

​​​