2018 Punjab provincial election


Provincial elections were held in Punjab, Pakistan on 25 July 2018 to elect the members of the 17th Provincial Assembly of the Punjab. After the elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was able to form the government in Punjab, with Sardar Usman Buzdar as the Chief Minister of Punjab.

Background

In the 2013 elections, the Pakistan Muslim League came out with well above a supermajority in the assembly with a landslide haul of 313 seats, and were comfortably able to form a government. They were followed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which held only 30 seats.
The election was notable for the downfall of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League, which, before the elections, held 106 and 79 seats respectively but were reduced to merely 8 seats each, due to the rise of PTI and PML, although the sheer numbers that the PML held in the assembly shocked many analysts.
Shehbaz Sharif, brother of PML chairman and two-time Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, became Chief Minister for the third time in his life, securing over 300 votes in the assembly.

''Janoobi Punjab Sooba Mahaz''

On April 10, 2018, 10 of the ruling PML-N's prominent elected candidates from South Punjab, parted ways from the party and announced a movement for the creation of South Punjab province. The movement was titled Janoobi Punjab Sooba Mahaz. In the coming weeks, the movement garnered widespread support and dissident MPs from the ruling coalition, as well as independents, started joining it. At its peak, the movement had the backing of 42 MPs. On May 8, 2018, the movement announced its merger with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the opposition party in the province, after PTI assured JPSM's leaders that creating the South Punjab province is a priority item in their manifesto for the 2018 elections.

Results

PTI has 183 members in the assembly, PML-Q 10, PML-N 167 and PPP 7. Pakistan Rah-e-Haq party has one member while three independent members are present in house.
Election results from three constituencies are pending while it has been halted from other three. Seven seats of Punjab Assembly were vacated after the member chose to take oath from National Assembly seat.
the results showed a massive victory for Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf party and the downfall of Pakistan Muslim league. Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf was 3 seats short of majority. Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf and Pakistan Muslim league formed a coalition government in Punjab assembly.