The general elections of 1977 were much awaited by the people of Pakistan and many hopes were attached to it. It was hoped that it will bring about a positive change in the lives of the people. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto decided to hold the elections before the stipulated period as he believed that he was very popular in the public and regard him as ‘messiah’. Many political scientists believe that he was ill advised by his minister to go for early elections. The general elections for the National Assembly were thus held on 7th August 1977. According to Hamid Khan (Constitutional and Political History of Pakistan, Karachi, Oxford University Press, 2001) the elections results were as under:
| Provinces | PPP | PNA | Independents | Total |
| Punjab | 107 | 08 | —– | 115 |
| Sindh | 32 | 11 | —– | 43 |
| NWFP | 08 | 17 | 01 | 26 |
| Baluchistan | 07 | —– | —– | 07 |
| Islamabad | 01 | —– | —- | 01 |
| Tribal Areas | —- | —- | 08 | 08 |
| Total | 155 | 36 | 09 | 200 |
These election results were not acceptable to the opposition and they formed an Opposition on 21st January 1977. The Opposition was named as Pakistan National Alliance. The Alliance blamed the government for rigging and using undemocratic means to overthrow the opposition. The Alliance put the demands to the government that included the resignation of Z.A Bhutto, dismissals of the elected assemblies and holding fresh elections in the country. After much resistance from the opposition alliance, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto started negotiations. Whether these negotiations resolved the crises or lead to more crises in the country is an important episode in the political history of Pakistan. (to be continued)
Written by : Jalal Uddin Yusufzai
(Editor in Chief of www.swatencyclopedia.com)
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