Former Pakistani Prime Minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Shehbaz Sharif during the elections (French)
Islamabad -
While consultations continue between the major political parties to form the federal and provincial governments in Pakistan, other players in the Pakistani political arena cannot be neglected, who represent a very important element in both the formation and cohesion of governments. This concerns small political parties, or parties that obtain Few seats in the National Assembly or regional assemblies.
A few seats are of great importance to the major parties, which do not obtain an absolute majority that would enable them to form the federal government individually. The Pakistani parties, especially the Insaf Party through its independent candidates, and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Sharif’s wing), are currently trying to mobilize a majority in Parliament. To form the government.
In an important development, the League and the Pakistan People's Party reached a formula of understanding on forming the federal government, after rounds of discussions between the two parties, since the announcement of the results of the last general elections, which were held on February 8.
Pakistani President Arif Alvi during his participation in the electoral process at a polling station in Karachi (Al Jazeera)
Small and important
According to the electoral system in Pakistan and the government formation system, the political party that wins the largest number of votes is the most capable of forming the government, if it is able to obtain half + 1 of the seats in the National Assembly, and the same applies to the regional government.
The Pakistani National Assembly consists of 336 seats, including 266 general seats that were held in the last general elections, and 70 seats reserved for women and minorities. These seats are distributed among the parties in the councils in a “proportional” manner.
In order to form the government, the winning party needs 169 votes in the Council, which forces the party, if it does not have this number, to ally with other parties.
The League Party won 79 seats in the last elections, and it is considered the winner among the political parties. Although the independents supported by the Insaf Party won 92 seats, according to the electoral law, they are not entitled to form the government except by joining any political bloc in Parliament, and collect the required number.
The Pakistan People's Party also won 54 seats, and it is the League's ally in forming the next government, according to the latest developments, in addition to their alliance being expected to form governments in some regions.
Within this process, small parties are very important in forming the government or even overthrowing it, similar to what happened with the government of Imran Khan in April 2022, where no confidence was withdrawn from him after the small parties withdrew from the alliance with the party, which caused him to lose his majority.
In this context, the League and the Insaf Party, or the independents supported by the Insaf Party who have joined the Muslim Unity Council, are competing for an alliance with the minor parties, in order to be able to form the next government.
Among the small parties are the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which won 17 seats, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, which won 4 seats, the Pakistan Muslim League, which won 3 seats, the Pakistan Independence Party, which won 2 seats, the Balochistan National Party, which also won 2 seats, and independents, which won 5 seats. In addition to other parties that have representation in only one seat.
balance factor
In the context of the importance of small parties and their role in forming and balancing governments throughout their constitutional period, political analyst Javed Siddiq told Al Jazeera Net that "small parties played a negative role, as they are used to pressure governments to submit to the demands of powerful parties."
Journalist and political analyst Muhammad Mahdi gives an example of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, where he says, “It is a small party, but it is very difficult to form a government without its presence in the union, due to the division in the mandate.” He added in his interview with Al Jazeera Net, “For this reason, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement is demanding the position of governor of Sindh.” And 6 federal ministries, and wants to be part of the Council of Ministers in Sindh province as well.”
Mahdi considers that, “Although, as a result of these elections, none of the small political parties had any importance in forming the government, with the exception of the Balochistan Regional Council, (the Jamiat of Islamic Scholars - Maulana Fazlur Rehman) possesses a large number of seats, which makes it occupy a position Whatever the regional level.
The political analyst adds, "Although the People's Party and the League are able to form a government in Balochistan if they agree to do so, in the event of disagreement, the Association of Islamic Scholars will gain great importance."
Emir of the Pakistani Islamic Group, Siraj ul-Haq, while casting his vote in Dir district in Khyber Agency (Al Jazeera)
Balance control
There is talk within the Pakistani political community about the nature of the connection between small parties and the military establishment - the actual course of the country - as experts believe that small parties are used to complete the quorum required to form governments, and to control their balance.
Political analyst Javed Siddiq believes that small parties are turning their backs on governments that are going through crises at the request of those who move them. He added in his interview with Al Jazeera Net that "small parties are playing the game they are asked to play."
Meanwhile, analyst Muhammad Mahdi goes back to saying, “These small political parties are trying to stay close to the military establishment. For example, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement is accused of being hostile to Pakistan, and it wants to distance itself from this blame, and that is why it wants to get closer to the military establishment and follow suit.” "Her mistake."
Mahdi adds, "The Muttahida Qaumi Movement had joined the previous Insaf Party government based on the instructions of the establishment at the time, and the movement will continue to maintain contact with the establishment in the face of any decision it takes."
Mahdi gives another example of the Association of Islamic Scholars, which has been angry with the institution over the past few years, as the association believes that the military institution provided support to the Insaf Party on its soil, and because of this support the association suffered a lot, but despite all this, the association is trying hard to get closer to the institution, Thus, it regains its lost position in the “Pashtun belt”.
Source: Al Jazeera