Constitution

Part III · The Federation of Pakistan · The Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)

National Assembly

Article 51

Amended by 18th Amendment (2010) · 24th Amendment · 25th Amendment (2018)

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1[(1)

There shall be 2[three hundred and thirty-six] seats for members in the National Assembly, including seats reserved for women and non-Muslims.

(2)

A person shall be entitled to vote if––

(a)

he is a citizen of Pakistan;

(b)

he is not less than eighteen years of age;

(c)

his name appears on the electoral roll; and

(d)

he is not declared by a competent court to be of unsound mind.

3[(3)

The seats in the National Assembly referred to in clause (1), except the seats mentioned in clause (4), shall be allocated to each Province, and the Federal Capital as under:–– General Seats Women Seats Total Seats Balochistan 16 4 20 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 45 10 55 Punjab 141 32 173 Sindh 61 14 75 Federal Capital 3 – 3 Total 266 60 326]

4* * * * * * *

(4)

In addition to the number of seats referred to in clause

(3)

, there shall be, in the National Assembly, ten seats reserved for non-Muslims.

5[(5)

6* * * 7[The] seats in the National Assembly shall be allocated to each Province and the Federal Capital on the basis of population in accordance with the last preceding census officially published:

Provided that for purposes of the next general elections to be held in 2018 and bye-elections related thereto, the allocation shall be made on the basis of provisional results of the 2017 census which shall be published by the Federal Government.]

(6)

For the purpose of election to the National Assembly,–

(a)

the constituencies for the general seats shall be single member territorial constituencies and the members to fill such seats shall be elected by direct and free vote in accordance with law;

(b)

each Province shall be a single constituency for all seats reserved for women which are allocated to the respective Provinces under clause (3);

(c)

the constituency for all seats reserved for non-Muslims shall be the whole country;

(d)

members to the seats reserved for women which are allocated to a Province under clause (3) shall be elected in accordance with law through proportional representation system of political parties’ lists of candidates on the basis of total number of general seats secured by each political party from the Province concerned in the National Assembly:

Provided that for the purpose of this paragraph the total number of general seats won by a political party shall include the independent returned candidate or candidates who may duly join such political party within three days of the publication in the official Gazette of the names of the returned candidates; and

(e)

members to the seats reserved for non-Muslims shall be elected in accordance with law through proportional representation system of political parties’ lists of candidates on the basis of total number of general seats won by each political party in the National Assembly:

Provided that for the purpose of this paragraph the total number of general seats won by a political party shall include the independent returned candidate or candidates who may duly join such political party within three days of the publication in the official Gazette of the names of the returned candidates.]

Amendment notes (7)›
  1. 1Substituted by the Constitution (Eighteenth Amdt.) Act, 2010 (10 of 2010), section 16 for “Article 51” and shall be deemed always to have been so subs. with effect from the 21st day of August, 2002.
  2. 2Substituted by the Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amdt.) Act, 2018 (37 of 2018), section 3, for “three hundred and forty-two”.
  3. 3Substituted ibid., for “clause (3)”.
  4. 4Clause (3A) ins. under section 3 of Act 37 of 2018, effective for the election of members from the former FATA areas in the general election, 2018 stood omitted on the dissolution of the National Assembly on 10-08-2023.
  5. 5Substituted by the Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amdt.) Act , 2017 (38 of 2017), section 2, for “clause (5)”.
  6. 6Omitted by the Act No. 37 of 2018, section 3.
  7. 7Substituted ibid., for the word “the”.

How to cite

In a petition
Article 51 of the Constitution
With heading
Article 51 of the Constitution (National Assembly)
In full
Article 51, Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973

English text as amended up to 21 November 2025 (27th Amendment), published by Ministry of Law and Justice / National Assembly of Pakistan. The English text is authoritative. Official PDF, page 48