Each elector may vote for two seats in his constituency: one for the National Assembly (the lower house of parliament) and one for his provincial government. There are four provinces in Pakistan: Sindh, Baluchistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The National Assembly has 272 directly elected seats, as well as 70 reserved seats – 60 for women, 10 for minorities – allocated on a proportional basis. To be able to form a government, a party will have to win at least 137 directly elected seats. The party leader who is able to form the government becomes prime minister
Who are the candidates?
There are three main parties vying for power, and many expect the vote to result in a parliament without a majority. If so, some of the 27 small groups could hope to play the role of king maker