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1951 North-West Frontier Province provincial election

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1951 North-West Frontier Province provincial election
← 1946 10 December 1951 1970 →
All 85 seats in the Provincial Assembly
43 seats needed for a majority
Registered1,346,938
Turnout49%
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Abdul Qayyum Khan Amin ul-Hasanat
Party PML JAML
Last election 17 seats –
Seats won 67 4
Seat change Increase 50 New
Premier before election

Abdul Qayyum Khan
PML

Elected Premier

Abdul Qayyum Khan
PML

Provincial Assembly elections were held in the North-West Frontier Province of the Dominion of Pakistan in 1951 to elect all 85 members of the Provincial Assembly, alongside provincial elections in West Punjab.[1] It was Pakistan's first provincial assembly election. The Muslim League won the election, defeating the Jinnah Awami Muslim League coalition of the Jinnah Muslim League and All-Pakistan Awami Muslim League.[2]

Background

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In the 1946 Indian provincial elections the Indian National Congress achieved a strong majority in North-West Frontier Province, largely due to the personality of Khudai Khidmatgar leader Abdul Ghaffar Khan, enabling them to form a government.[3] Although Khan strongly opposed the partition of India,[4] a 1947 referendum regarding accession to Pakistan was held. Khan boycotted the referendum,[5] which resulted in a large majority voting to join Pakistan.

Following Pakistani independence, the Muslim League called for Khan's government to be removed. This was achieved when Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah dismissed Khan's cabinet and appointed Abdul Qayyum Khan as new Chief Minister.[6] In 1951 Qayyum announced the holding of provincial elections, which received negative reactions as most political leaders were in jail or exile. Although the Provincial Assembly was dissolved, Qayyum's government remained in power still as the interim government.[7]

Results

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The number of seats in the Assembly was increased from 50 to 85, including three reserved seats (two for Muslim women and one for non-Muslims).[7] A total of 240 candidates contested the elections, of which 84 were from the Muslim League (nine of whom were unopposed), 46 from the Jinnah Awami Muslim League, five from the Azad Muslim League, three from Jamaat-e-Islami and four from the Islami League. Around 660,000 voters voted in the election, a turnout of 49%.[7]

Qayyum led the Muslim League to a landslide victory,[8] winning 67 of the 85 seats.

PartySeats+/–
Muslim League67+50
Jinnah Awami Muslim League4New
Jamaat-e-Islami0New
Islami League0New
Azad Muslim League0New
Non-Muslim1–
Independent13+12
Total85+35
Source: Kamran[6]

Aftermath

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After the elections, Qayyum formed a ministry with himself as Chief Minister, Mian Jaffar Shah as Education Minister, Jalal Baba as Local Self-Government Minister, M. R. Kiyani as Health Minister and Mir Ayub Khan as Revenue Minister.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Overview". Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
  2. ^ Paracha, Nadeem F. (19 June 2018). "Elections in Pakistan: A visual history". Naya Duar TV.
  3. ^ W. W. J. (April 1946). "The Indian Elections – 1946". The World Today. 2 (4): 167–175. JSTOR 40391905.
  4. ^ "Abdul Ghaffar Khan". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
  5. ^ Meyer, Karl E. (2008). The Dust of Empire: The Race For Mastery in the Asian Heartland – Karl E. Meyer – Google Boeken. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-0786724819. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  6. ^ a b Kamran, Tahir (July–December 2009). "Early phase of electoral politics in Pakistan: 1950s" (PDF). South Asian Studies. 24 (2): 257–282.
  7. ^ a b c d Minhaj ul Hassa, Syed (2008). "1951 General Elections in the NWFP" (PDF). Pakistan Journal of History and Culture. 29 (2). National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research.
  8. ^ Afzal, M. Rafique (2002). Political Parties in Pakistan: 1947–1958, Vol. 1. Islamabad, National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research.
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