The March 1977 Elections in Pakistan: Where Everyone Lost

Abstract

FAR MORE THAN the survival of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's six year old rule was at stake in Pakistan's March 1977 parliamentary elections. The very commitment to a constitutional order was being tested in the nation's second elections under universal suffrage, and the first elections in the 30 years since Partition to be held by a popularly elected regime. When the results were in, the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) claimed a renewed mandate: Bhutto's followers had captured more than 80% of the 200 general seats in the National Assembly.' The outcome seemed to suggest that the coalition of rural and urban underprivileged mobilized by Bhutto in 1970 would continue to dominate electoral politics. In fact, the 1977 elections failed to signal a clear victory for egalitarian or progressive causes. While the campaign stimulated an unexpectedly high level of voter interest, the character of debate diminished the elections' ideological meaning. More critically, rather than helping to establish political accountability and trust in Pakistan's politics, the elections triggered political instability and cynicism. The opposition parties denounced the polls as rigged and refused to accept their seats in the National Assembly or to contest subsequent Provincial Assembly elections. Massive postelection public disorders and severe economic dislocations ensued. Wider conflict was averted only through the imposition of martial law administrations in three major cities and restrictions on civil liberties nationwide. For the foreseeable future, Pakistan's ability to cope with democratic norms and institutions seems in serious doubt. Under provisions of the 1973 Constitution, the National and Pro-