1960 Pakistani presidential confidence referendum
An indirect referendum on confidence in President Muhammad Ayub Khan was held in Pakistan on 14 February 1960,[1] with voters asked whether he should remain president for another five years, having held the position since 1958 after overthrowing the previous government in a military coup.
The vote was held under the basic democracy system introduced after the coup, under which indirect votes were carried out by a 80,000-member electoral college. Its members were elected from single-member constituencies (40,000 in each wing), one for every 600 voters.[2] The elections to the electoral college took place between December 1959 and January 1960 on a non-partisan basis (as political parties were banned).[2]
Around 96% of members of the electoral college voted in favour of Khan.[2] He was sworn in three days after the vote.[3]
Results[edit]
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For | 75,084 | 96.37 | |
| Against | 2,829 | 3.63 | |
| Total | 77,913 | 100.00 | |
| Valid votes | 77,913 | 99.23 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 608 | 0.77 | |
| Total votes | 78,521 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 80,000 | 98.15 | |
| Source: Feldman[4] | |||
References[edit]
- ^ "Pakistan gives Ayub five-year mandate". The New York Times. 15 February 1960.
- ^ a b c "elec-tion-ary [Election-in-1960]". The Express Tribune. 12 April 2013.
- ^ Stanley B. Sprague (2020). Pakistan Since Independence: A History, 1947 to Today. McFarland. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4766-8151-1.
- ^ Herbert Feldman (1967). Revolution in Pakistan: A Study of the Martial Law Administration. p. 109.
