The general elections in Pakistan are to be held on Thursday, to elect members of national and state assemblies. 

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that 44 political parties will contest 266 seats of the assembly. 

According to ECP, a total of 128 million citizens out of 241 million are above 18 and are eligible to vote.

Several Pakistanis are optimistic about the elections but some consider it a process of legitimating corrupt leaders. 

“I am going to cast my vote for the first time in my life in the 2024 election. I want to vote for an honest party, a party that will work honestly for the poor, look after the poor," said Rabia Shafiq, a resident of Pakistan. 
 
“Thieves and robbers will return to the new government, to fill their pockets, as usual. That’s all they will do. There will be neither benefits for the people nor for the youth. They will not bring employment,” said Noman, another resident of Pakistan. 

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) led by Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led by Imran Khan, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led by former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan's Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party led by Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, Jamaat-e-Islam party led by Sirajul Haq Ameer are ahead in the general elections of Pakistan.

The National Assembly has 336 seats, out of which 266 candidates are elected through direct voting and 70 seats are reserved. Of these reserved seats, 60 are for women and 10 for non-Muslims and they are allocated as per each party's strength in the assembly.

Once the National Assembly members are elected, they hold a vote to select the Prime Minister, and then the President of Pakistan is elected by the votes of the representatives of the National Assembly, the Senate, and the Loyalty Councils.

The elections come as Pakistan has recently witnessed increased anti-security incidents but Pakistani officials assured that strict security measures have been taken to ensure the safety of candidates, voters, and polling centers. 

“More than ample resources are available to ensure peaceful, free, and fair elections on Thursday, February 8,” said Murtaza Solangi, the Information Minister of Pakistan. 

Meanwhile, how will elections in Pakistan affect the situation of the region, especially in Afghanistan?

“In the case of Afghanistan, when a new prime minister comes to power in Pakistan and other changes come, it does not affect Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. Pakistan's depth of strategy regarding Afghanistan will not change in any way,” said Aziz Marij, a political analyst.

“Democracy and elections will be invalidated in Pakistan. And even in the region, it emboldens the anti-democratic people in the region," said Wahid Faqiri, international relations analyst.
 
In the contest for the National Assembly are 5,121 candidates. They belong either to Pakistan’s 167 registered political parties or are independents and 90,582 polling stations will service voters who want to cast their ballots.

More than 5,000 candidates are vying for 266 seats, and among them are 4,806 men, 312 women, and two transgender people. 92 international observers from the European Union and countries such as Russia, Japan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Holland, Malaysia, Hungary, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Germany, Turkey, and several other countries are supposed to monitor these elections.