National Assembly (Pakistan)
The National Assembly (Urdu: ایوان زیریں پاکستان) is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also comprises the President of Pakistan and Senate (upper house). The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad. The National Assembly is a democratically elected body consisting of a total of 342 members who are referred to as Members of the National Assembly (MNAs), of which 272 are directly elected members and 70 reserved seats for women and religious minorities.
Members are elected through the first-past-the-post system under universal adult suffrage, representing electoral districts known as National Assembly constituencies. According to the constitution, the 70 seats reserved for women and religious minorities are allocated to the political parties according to their proportional representation.
Each National Assembly is formed for a five-year term, commencing from the date of the first sitting, after which it is automatically dissolved. The National Assembly can be dissolved by the President of Pakistan, upon the advice of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The current National Assembly term is set to expire on 18 March 2013.
Read more about National Assembly (Pakistan): History, Powers, Speaker and Deputy Speaker, Sessions, Committees, Composition and Elections, Dissolution, Administrative Distribution
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