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All 240 seats in the Provincial Assembly 120 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Provincial Assembly elections were held in Punjab, Pakistan on 3 February 1997 to elect all 240 members of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, Pakistan along with nationwide general elections and three other provincial elections in Sindh, Balochistan, and North-West Frontier Province. The elections were held as a result of dismissal of Benazir Bhutto's second government by President Farooq Leghari in November 1996. [1] After which, a caretaker government was inducted in Punjab under Mian muhammad Afzal Hayat, a former member of Punjab Assembly, as the Caretaker Chief Minister. [2]
The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) achieved a landslide victory by securing 211 out of 240 seats, leaving their primary competitor, the Pakistan Peoples Party, far behind with just 3 seats at third place while the Independent candidates won 21 seats finishing second. [3]
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
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Pakistan Muslim League (N) | 6,608,784 | 53.22 | 211 | +106 | |
Pakistan Peoples Party | 2,557,786 | 20.60 | 3 | -90 | |
Pakistan Muslim League (J) | 175,171 | 1.41 | 2 | −16 | |
Pakistan Democratic Party | 50,026 | 0.40 | 1 | New | |
Muslim Ittehad Pakistan | 27,378 | 0.22 | 1 | New | |
Others | 440,663 | 3.55 | 0 | – | |
Independents | 2,557,786 | 20.60 | 21 | +3 | |
Total | 12,417,594 | 100.00 | 239 | 0 | |
Source: Election Pakistan [4] |
After the elections, Shehbaz Sharif assumed the role of Chief Minister of Punjab on February 20, 1997. His appointment to this position came about as a result of receiving 226 votes during the assembly vote, which lead to the formation of a supermajority government. [5]
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