1955 Pakistani Constituent Assembly election

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Second Pakistani Constituent Assembly election
Flag of Pakistan.svg
  1947 21 June 1955 (1955-06-21) 1962  

72 seats in the Constituent Assembly
37 seats needed for a majority
Registered404
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Mohammad Ali Bogra portrait (cropped).jpg
A k fazlul hoque.jpg
H S Suhrawardy PM.jpg
Leader Mohammad Ali Bogra A. K. Fazlul Huq Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Party PML UF AL
Leader since195319541950
Last election59NewNew
Seats won251612
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 34Increase2.svg 16Increase2.svg 12

Prime Minister before election

Mohammad Ali Bogra
PML

New Prime Minister

Chaudhri Muhammad Ali
PMLUF coalition

On 21 June 1955, seven years after the independence of Pakistan, the election for the Second Constituent Assembly was held through the votes of provincial members of all provinces of the country. The resulting Assembly remained in existence until 1958, when it was dissolved following the imposition of military rule by the interim president Iskander Mirza. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

On 24 October 1954, governor-general Malik Ghulam Muhammad dissolved the first Constituent Assembly, leading to another Constituent Assembly election in the Dominion of Pakistan. Because there was no constitution or procedures for a general election, the election was conducted indirectly through members of the provincial assemblies. Multiple political parties from both Eastern and Western Pakistan participated in the election.

As the founding party of the country, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) achieved significant dominance in the Western provinces. However, in East Bengal, parties such as the All-Pakistan Awami League (AL) and the United Front (UF) won seats, intensifying political competition. As no single party secured a majority, the PML and UF formed a coalition government. The new Constituent Assembly drafted Pakistan's first constitution in 1956, which declared the country an Islamic Republic.

Background

After 1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election, the United Front acquired majority in East Bengal and formed third Huq ministry. 1954 east bengal cabinet.jpg
After 1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election, the United Front acquired majority in East Bengal and formed third Huq ministry.

In 1947, members of Pakistan's Constituent Assembly were elected indirectly by Muslim legislators from the Muslim-majority provinces of British India. However, after Pakistan's independence, this composition changed following provincial elections: West Punjab and the North-West Frontier in 1951, Sindh in 1953, and East Bengal in 1954. [4] In three provinces, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) achieved majority. However, the exception was East Bengal where a four-party coalition named United Front [a] (UF) won the most seats. [6]

As a result, the legislative assemblies of West Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province demanded that the Constituent Assembly members be replaced with newly elected provincial legislators. The East Bengal Assembly further called for the complete dissolution of the existing Constituent Assembly and fresh elections. On 8 April 1954, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan supported this demand, urging that new members from East Bengal be included in a reconstituted Assembly. Their demands were opposed by the PML and its leader and prime minister Mohammad Ali Bogra, who resisted the inclusion of new East Bengal members to maintain his political position. [4] At the time, there was dispute among politicians about One Unit Scheme as East Bengal had the significant population to dominate the national politics. The Bengali–Punjabi controversy was slowing down the constitution making process. [7]

Tensions peaked on 24 October 1954, when governor-general Malik Ghulam Muhammad dissolved the Constituent Assembly. This move came after the Assembly passed legislation limiting his powers, making them subject to cabinet decisions and enhancing the prime minister's authority. The new law also revoked the governor-general's authority to dissolve the Assembly. [4] The governor-general proclaimed to held elections for the Constituent Assembly and directed prime minister to reform central cabinet. [8] In response, Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan, president of the dissolved Assembly, challenged the action by filing a case in the federal court. [4]

The sudden dissolution created uncertainty regarding how a new Constituent Assembly would be elected within a short time. Since Pakistan had no constitution at the time, and the Indian Independence Act did not contain any provision related to elections for the assembly, the government faced legal challenges, making direct elections impossible. [b] Consequently, the governor-general announced that a "Constitutional Convention" would be summoned through indirect elections. [4]

On 10 May 1955, [10] the Federal Court dismissed Tamizuddin Khan's case and declared that the governor-general's assent was essential for any legislation to be valid. [4] It ruled that the governor-general had the power to dissolve the Constituent Assembly and that there was no scope for the creation of any representative body called the Constitutional Convention. [10] The court directed the government to form new constituent assembly by elections. [11] On 22 May 1955, the governor-general validated the 1949 Constituent Assembly Act and restructured and increased the number of assembly seats. [12] In 28 May, a special issue of the Gazette of Pakistan announced that the Constituent Assembly elections would be held on 21 June 1955. [13]

Nominations

In Western Pakistan, a rebel faction of the PML led by Feroz Khan Noon contested the elections in West Punjab under the same party name – here referred to as PML (Noon), later taking the name Republican Party – against the 30 officially approved candidates of the PML. Meanwhile, in the North-West Frontier Province, Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan became a rebel candidate against the party, while the All-Pakistan Awami League (AL) also participated in the elections from the province under the leadership of Amin ul-Hasanat. [c] [14] However, the AL candidates later withdrew their nominations. [15] From West Punjab, Mian Abdul Bari, a member of All-Pakistan Awami League, contested as an independent politician. [16] In the province of Baluchistan, Sardar Muhammad Anwar Jan Khetran, opposition leader of the Shahi Jirga (the grand council of tribal elders), contested against Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan. [17]

In East Bengal, a parliamentary committee of the UF was formed for the election, headed by A. K. Fazlul Huq. The alliance decided to nominate individuals from outside the legislature. [18] Additionally, the PML decided to field candidates in the province and called a parliamentary committee meeting in 12 June. [19] Meanwhile, a dispute arose in the province between provincial leader Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and central leader Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy over the list of candidates from the AL. [20] A total of 26 candidates were nominated from the UF and 18 from the AL; Mohammad Ali Bogra was the only PML candidate in the province. [21]

Results

Seat distribution by political party in the election
  1. PML (34.72%)
  2. UF (22.22%)
  3. AL (16.66%)
  4. PNC (5.55%)
  5. PML (Noon) (4.16%)
  6. SCF (4.16%)
  7. UPP (2.77%)
  8. Independents (9.72%)

Aftermath

Constitution of Pakistan of 1956 Cover of the first constitiution of Pakistan.jpg
Constitution of Pakistan of 1956

In the election, political parties failed to secure a majority to form the central government. [37] After the election, Mohammad Ali Bogra expressed interest in forming a coalition with the UF. [38] However, the PML rejected the conditions set by the UF, leading to the failure of the coalition efforts. Meanwhile, the AL initially agreed to form a coalition government on the condition that Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy should be made prime minister. [39] In July 1955, the AL and the UF made a pact [e] in the hill town of Murree, West Punjab, to support the PML on the conditions that political leaders from East Bengal be included in the central cabinet and that governor's rule be withdrawn from the province. [37]

The Constituent Assembly session began on 7 July 1955 in Murree. [40] With the support of the PNC, East Bengal SCF, and the UPP, the UF gained a total of 25 supporters in the Assembly. [41]

On 7 August 1955, after Chaudhri Muhammad Ali was elected the PML parliamentary leader in the Constituent Assembly, Mohammad Ali Bogra resigned from the post of prime minister. [42] At that time, an attempt was made to form a tripartite coalition government, and the AL made no immediate objections [43] [f] but later rejected the proposal. As a result, in 11 August, a coalition cabinet was formed under the leadership of Chaudhri Muhammad Ali, consisting of members from the PML and the UF – the country's first coalition cabinet. [45] In the assembly, Suhrawardy became the opposition leader. [36] On 5 March 1956, Iskander Mirza was elected in an indirect election as interim president of Pakistan, previously serving as governor-general of the country. [46] On 23 March 1956, Pakistan's first constitution was enforced and the British dominion became an Islamic Republic. Mirza's presidency began that same day. [47] After that, the federal government refrained from holding general elections and, with the aid of the administration, maintained a façade of democracy until 1958. Subsequently, martial law was imposed by Mirza, and both the government and parliament were dissolved. [1] [2]

List of cabinet members

Chaudhri Muhammad Ali, prime minister of the coalition government. Mohamad Ali, primeiro-ministro do Paquistao, sem data.tif
Chaudhri Muhammad Ali, prime minister of the coalition government.

The initial formation of the cabinet established on 11 August 1955 is given below: [48]

PortfolioMinisterTookofficeLeftofficeParty
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth, Finance, Defence and Economic Affairs11 August 195512 September 1956  PML
Ministry of Communications and Frontier Regions11 August 195514 October 1955  PML
Ministry of Home Affairs11 August 19559 March 1956  UF
Ministry of Industries and Commerce11 August 195512 September 1956  Independent
Ministry of Education and Kashmir Affairs11 August 195514 October 1955  PML
Ministry of Health and Law11 August 195512 September 1956 United Progressive Party (Pakistan)
Ministry of Labour, Works and Minority Affairs11 August 195512 September 1956  UF
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting11 August 195529 August 1956  PML
Ministry of Food and Agriculture11 August 195512 September 1956  UF
Finance Division11 August 195512 September 1956  UF
Refugees, Rehabilitation and Parliamentary Affairs Division11 August 195512 September 1956  PML

References

Notes

  1. consisted of East Pakistan Awami League (EPAL), Ganatantri Dal (GD) Krishak Sramik Party (KSP) and Nizam-e-Islam Party (NIP). Later GD and EPAL left the coalition. [5]
  2. also, the act did not specify period or dissolution method of the assembly. [9]
  3. also known as Pir of Manki Sharif.
  4. Although he was a member of the Pakistan Muslim League, he contested the election as an independent.
  5. known as Murree Pact. [37]
  6. However, East Pakistan provincial AL general secretary Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, on the behalf of his party, announced three conditions for the coalition — Suhrawardy should be the prime minister, Regional autonomy for East Bengal and joint electorate, and Bengali should be made Pakistan's state language with Urdu. [44]

Citations

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  2. 1 2 Salahuddin Ahmed (2004). Bangladesh: past and present. APH Publishing. pp. 151–153. ISBN   978-81-7648-469-5.
  3. Sohail 2012, pp. 82.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kokab, Rizwan Ullah; Shah, Ali Shan; Aziz, Tariq (2020). "Second Constituent Assembly of Pakistan: Politics for Dissolution of Former Assembly and Electoral Regulations for New Assembly". Sir Syed Journal of Education & Social Research. III (3): 49–57. doi: 10.36902/sjesr-vol3-iss3-2020(49-57) . ISSN   2706-6525.
  5. Mamun, Muntassir; Rahman, Md. Mahbubar (2015) [2013]. ভাষা আন্দোলন ও বাঙালির আত্মপরিচয় প্রতিষ্ঠা. স্বাধীন বাংলাদেশের অভ্যুদয়ের ইতিহাস (in Bengali). Subarna. pp. 121–141. ISBN   9789849069447.
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  9. Chowdhury, Zahirul Islam (1972). Extra-constitutional Action in Pakistan (PDF) (Thesis). London: School of Oriental and African Studies. p. 57.
  10. 1 2 "CHRONOLOGY April 1, 1955 — June 30, 1955". Pakistan Horizon. VIII (2). Pakistan Institute of International Affairs: 393–397. 1955.
  11. Chowdhury, Z.I. (1989). "The Role of Judiciary In The Constitutional Development of Pakistan (1947–1971)". The Dhaka University Studies Part-F. I (1). Dhaka: University of Dhaka: 8.
  12. "G-G Validates Consembly Act of 1949". The Pakistan Observer . 24 May 1955. p. 1.
  13. "C.A. Elections To Be Held On June 21". The Pakistan Observer . 29 May 1955. p. 1.
  14. গণপরিষদে লীগ প্রার্থী পঃ পাকিস্তানে স্বতন্ত্র লীগ পন্থীদের তীব্র প্রতিদ্বন্দ্বিতা[League Candidates Face Strong Opposition from Independent Leaguers in W. Pakistan]. The Azad (in Bengali). 19 June 1955. p. 1.
  15. গণ-মজলিসের নির্বাচনে সীমান্তে আওয়ামী লীগ প্রার্থীদের নাম প্রত্যাহার[Awami League Candidates Withdraw from Frontier Elections]. Jugantar Patrika (in Bengali). 21 June 1955. p. 7.
  16. Sohail 2012, pp. 109.
  17. পাঞ্জাব, বেলুচিস্তান ও সীমান্ত হইতে ৫২ জনের মনোনয়নপত্র দাখেল[52 Nomination Papers Submitted From Punjab, Baluchistan and Frontier]. The Azad (in Bengali). 17 June 1955. p. 6.
  18. যুক্তফ্রন্ট পার্টির গণপরিষদের নির্ব্বাচনে যোগদানের সিদ্ধান্ত[United Front Party Decides to Contest C.A. Election]. The Azad (in Bengali). 15 June 1955. p. 1.
  19. গণপরিষদের নির্ব্বাচনে পূর্ব্ব পাকিস্তান লীগের যোগদানের সিদ্ধান্ত[East Pakistan League Decides to Participate in C.A. Election]. The Azad (in Bengali). 10 June 1955. p. 1.
  20. "AWAMI LEADERS FALL OUT OVER C.A. NOMINATION". The Pakistan Observer . 20 June 1955. p. 1.
  21. "MLAs Go To Polls For CA Elections Today". The Pakistan Observer . 21 June 1955. p. 1, 6.
  22. "Rebels Trounced In Punjab Elections". The Pakistan Observer . 22 June 1955. p. 1.
  23. পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান হইতে ২৬ জন সদস্য নির্ব্বাচিত[26 Members Elected From West Pakistan]. The Azad (in Bengali). 22 June 1955. p. 1, 6.
  24. "CA Results From Punjab: Iftikharuddin Returned". The Pakistan Observer . 23 June 1955. p. 1.
  25. 1 2 3 গণপরিষদে বিভিন্ন দলের শক্তি নির্বাচিত সদস্যদের নামের তালিকা[Party Strength in the Constituent Assembly and List of Elected Members]. The Azad (in Bengali). 24 June 1955. p. 6.
  26. পূর্ব্ববঙ্গ হইতে গণপরিষদ নির্বাচনের ফলাফল ঘোষণা[Constituent Assembly Results Announced From East Bengal]. The Azad (in Bengali). 23 June 1955. p. 1.
  27. Palmer, Norman D. (1975). Elections and Political Development: The South Asian Experience, Pakistan and North India. Karachi: Oxford University Press. p. 179.
  28. Malik, Rahat Zubair (2017). "Parliament not-Parliaments: Legislature of Pakistan in the Hatching (1947-69)". Global Social Sciences Review. II (I). Islamabad: National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research: 55. doi:10.31703/gssr.2017(II-I).03. ISSN   2616-793X.
  29. "U.F. Party Disapproves Convention". The Pakistan Observer . 18 April 1955. p. 1.
  30. "Rejection of Convention Will Mean Martial Law". The Pakistan Observer . 21 April 1955. p. 1.
  31. "U.F. PARTY DISSOCIATES WITH SUHRAWARDY". The Pakistan Observer . 24 April 1955. p. 1.
  32. "Bhasani Says, Convention May Be Accepted Conditionally". The Pakistan Observer . 27 April 1955. p. 1.
  33. "Awami League Concedes To Convention". The Pakistan Observer . 28 April 1955. p. 1.
  34. "A. K. Fazlul Huq Launches Countrywide Campaign". The Pakistan Observer . 18 May 1955. p. 1.
  35. নয়া গণপরিষদের নির্ব্বাচন পদ্ধতি মালিক ফিরোজ খান নূন কর্তৃক সমালোচনা[New Constituent Assembly Election Method Criticized by Malik Feroz Khan Noon]. The Azad (in Bengali). 5 June 1955. p. 1.
  36. 1 2 Callahan, John P. (11 September 1955). "Pakistan Election Scandal Aired; Frauds Laid to Moslem League; Opposition Leader Charges Assembly Was Packed by Intimidation and Threats to Cut Off Drinking Water". New York Times .
  37. 1 2 3 Uddin, Md. Nasir; Shamuel Kaiser, Shah; Khuda, Kudrat-e (2016). বাংলাদেশ : স্বায়ত্তশাসন থেকে স্বাধীনতা [Bangladesh: From Autonomy to Independence](PDF). International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Studies (in Bengali). II (VI). Karimganj: Scholar Publications: 13. ISSN   2349-6959.
  38. কেন্দ্রে লীগ-যুক্তফ্রন্ট কোয়ালিশন গঠন করা হইবে[League-United Front Coalition to be Formed at Centre]. The Azad (in Bengali). 25 June 1955. p. 1.
  39. কেন্দ্রে লীগ ও আওয়ামী লীগ কোয়ালিশন সম্ভাবনা[Possibility of League-Awami League Coalition at Centre]. The Azad (in Bengali). 8 July 1955. p. 1.
  40. "C.A. SESSION OPENS AT MURREE". The Pakistan Observer . 8 July 1955. p. 1.
  41. পূর্ববঙ্গের ৯জন অ-মুসলমান সদস্য গণপরিষদের যুক্ত ফ্রন্ট দলে যোগদানের সিদ্ধান্ত[9 Non-Muslim Members of East Bengal Decide to Join United Front in Constituent Assembly]. Jugantar Patrika (in Bengali). 8 July 1955. p. 1.
  42. "CHOWDHURY MD. ALI ELECTED M.L. PARLIAMENTARY CHIEF". The Pakistan Observer . 9 August 1955. p. 1.
  43. "Possibility Of 3-Party Coalition Explored". The Pakistan Observer . 11 August 1955. p. 1.
  44. সংবাদপত্রে বঙ্গবন্ধু[Bangabandhu in the Press] (in Bengali). Vol. I. Press Institute of Bangladesh. 2018 [2014]. p. 61. ISBN   9789847320045.
  45. "Eleven-Man Central Cabinet Sworn In". The Pakistan Observer . 13 August 1955. p. 1.
  46. "Iskander Mirza Elected First President Of Pakistan Republic". The Pakistan Observer . 6 March 1956. p. 1.
  47. পাকিস্থান ঐশ্লামিক সাধারণতন্ত্র আনুষ্ঠানিকভাবে প্রতিষ্ঠিত[The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is officially established]. Jugantar Patrika (in Bengali). 24 March 1956. p. 1.
  48. "CENTRAL GOVERNMENT (4)" (PDF). Cabinet Division of Pakistan.

Bibliography