Pakistan's 106 million registered voters are choosing a new parliament and provincial assemblies on Wednesday. Parliament has a five-year term, and the majority party or a coalition chooses a prime minister. The election is a two-way race between parties led by former cricketer Imran Khan and jailed ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Opinion polls in the run up to the Pakistan assembly election have put Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf a little ahead of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan Peoples' Party of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the third place. To gain a majority, a party needs 137 of the 272 elected National Assembly seats. A further 70 seats for women and minorities are awarded proportionally based on the voting percentages.
