General elections were held in Pakistan on 28 March 1962. [1] The National Assembly was elected indirectly by the basic democracy electoral college system. Political parties were banned and the elections were held on a non-partisan basis. [2] [3]
Background
The National Assembly had been suspended in 1958 after President Iskandar Ali Mirza introduced martial law. A new constitution was adopted in 1962, which provided for an indirectly elected 156-seat National Assembly, of which 150 seats were elected from single-member constituencies by electoral colleges under the " basic democracy" system, and six seats reserved for women, who were elected by the 150 elected members. The seats were divided equally between East and West Pakistan. [2] There were 80,000 members of the electoral college, also divided equally between the two wings. [3]
A total of 610 candidates contested the 156 seats. [4]
Aftermath
After the election of the 150 members, the six seats reserved for women were elected on 29 May. [1] The newly elected National Assembly convened for its first meeting on 8 June. [5] Martial law was ended, [2] and political parties were allowed to reform after the passing of the Political Parties Bill on 17 July. [5]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Parliamentary history". National Assembly of Pakistan.
- ^ a b c The Commonwealth Relations Office Year Book, Volume 13. 1964. pp. 289–291.
- ^ a b Syedur Rahman (2010). Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh. Scarecrow Press. p. liv. ISBN 978-0-8108-7453-4.
- ^ M. Rashiduzzaman (1969–1970). "The National Assembly of Pakistan Under the 1962 Constitution" (PDF). Pacific Affairs. 42 (4): 481–493. doi: 10.2307/2754129. JSTOR 2754129.
- ^ a b Tahir Kamran. "Electoral Politics in Pakistan (1955-1969)" (PDF). p. 91.