Pakistan general elections to be held on July 25: All you need to know about the upcoming polls

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The elections come at a time of growing political instability in the country, with the ruling PML-N accusing the military of interfering in politics and weakening it. The military has, however, dismissed any such charges.

Interim cabinet to be set up before the polls

After the present government’s tenure under the leadership of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi comes to an end on May 31, a caretaker set-up will be installed at the Centre and the provinces to run day-to-day affairs of the government till the time new assemblies are elected.

Abbasi and opposition leader Khursheed Shah have yet to agree on who will be the caretaker prime minister.  Reports said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has proposed former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf and former foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jillani as opposition candidates to become the caretaker prime minister. Other names being circulated in the media include former governor State Bank of Pakistan Ishrat Hussain, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to United Nations Maleeha Lodhi, former secretary of the ECP Ishtiak Ahmad Khan and former chief justices Jawad S Khawaja, Tassaduq Hussain Jillani or Anwar Zaheer Jamali.

The interim administration is unlikely to take any major decisions except for supervising elections until a new government is elected.

Appearing confident of winning, Imran Khan vowed to oust the country’s “corrupt” rulers in the upcoming polls.(Source- File)

Who are the major political parties?

The polls are likely to be a tight contest between the ruling PML-N party and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) headed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is also expected to heat up the battle.

Appearing confident of winning, Imran Khan vowed to oust the country’s “corrupt” rulers in the upcoming polls. “The Pakistani nation… can see the dawn of a new Pakistan, which will not be ruled by the corrupt,” the party said in a statement posted today on Twitter along with a graphic that read “Mafia’s Game Over”. “Stop us if you can,” it said in another tweet. Meanwhile, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the PML-N would win with a bigger margin in the 2018 general election than that of 2013 polls, the local media reported. The prime minister said the development work carried out during the tenure of present government had no precedent in the country’s history, adding that the PML-N had entered the election arena with the same spirit.

The announcement also comes just days before the term of the sitting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz PML-(N) government is set to expire on May 31. (Source: AP photo/Files)

Voters in Pakistan

A total of 105 million — 59.2 million males and 46.7 million females — will use their right of vote to elect the new government, according to data on the website of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Around 85,000 polling stations with some 285,000 polling booths would be established across the country and security cameras would be installed at the most sensitive polling stations, reports Dawn news.

(With inputs from agencies)