2002 Pakistani referendum

A referendum on allowing Pervez Musharraf to continue as President for five years was held in Pakistan on 30 April 2002. The proposal was approved by 97.97% of voters. However, the referendum was boycotted by the opposition on the basis that it was unconstitutional. Although turnout was reported to be 56.1%, the opposition claimed it was between 5% and 7%. The poll was criticised for being "marred by gross irregularities" by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Background

Pervez Musharraf came to power in a military coup on 12 October 1999. According to Musharraf this step was necessary in order to eliminate turmoil and uncertainty from the country. After becoming Chief Executive of the country, he later removed President Rafiq Tarar from office, assuming the post himself. Although the country previously was under military rule, in 2001 the country was declared to be returning to democracy. However, before being elected Prime Minister through elections, a referendum was held. This was done in order to see whether the general population was supportive of Musharraf. He claimed that holding a referendum was abiding by democratic laws, despite the constitution of Pakistan not containing a reference to electing Presidents by referendums.

Conduct

The referendum was seen by many as a sham or fixed. Opposition parties including Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League referred to the decision of Musharraf as inappropriate and urged citizens to boycott voting. In response, the voting age lowered from 21 to 18 and the number of polling stations increased by ten times. However, the voting had been done without the placement of certain guidelines including identification cards.

Results

Choice	Votes	%
For	42,804,000	97.97
Against	883,676	2.03
Invalid/blank votes	282,676	–
Total	43,970,352	100
Registered voters/turnout	78,300,000	56.10
Source: Direct Democracy