Pakistan elections: What you need to know

As Pakistan goes to polls on Wednesday to elect its next government, the world waits for the outcome as this will decide the future of the country as well as the region. A stable government in Pakistan is necessary to curb active terrorist outfits headquartered in its soil.

1. Votes will be cast for National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies - Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There are 272 directly elected and 70 reserved seats in National Assembly and the majority mark is 137.

2. There are more than 105 million eligible voters.

3. The close fight will be between the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML- N), which is the party of corruption-tainted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

There are decisive players like Pakistan People's Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) a rainbow coalition of Islamic religious groups and other regional parties.

4. No prime minister has completed a full five-year term in the history of Pakistan.

5. Pakistan was under military rule about half of the years after they became independent in 1947.

6. This will be the second civilian to civilian power exchange after 2013 general elections, if the election process goes well.

7. The PML- N is in trouble after its chief Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Sharif were convicted in the corruption case. They allege military involvement in charging the cases against its leaders. The party has been asking voters to utilise their franchise to get rid of the military involvement under the slogan ‘Vote ko izzat do!’ (Give respect to the vote). The PTI has set the objective to end rampant corruption in the country.

8. Many candidates of the PML-N have left the party and are contesting for PTI or as independents.

9. If Imran Khan emerges victorious, it would be the end of the power-sharing of political elites. Moreover, observers are expecting an overhaul of policies, especially related to foreign affairs. Some oversee increasing military involvement in the governance.

10. The polling will start at 8 am on Wednesday and end by 6 pm. The results will come out a few hours after the polling closes.