An indirect referendum on confidence in President Muhammad Ayub Khan was held in Pakistan on 14 February 1960,[1] with voters asked whether he should remain president for another five years, having held the position since 1958 after overthrowing the previous government in a military coup.
The vote was held under the basic democracy system introduced after the coup, under which indirect votes were carried out by a 80,000-member electoral college. Its members were elected from single-member constituencies (40,000 in each wing), one for every 600 voters.[2] The elections to the electoral college took place between December 1959 and January 1960 on a non-partisan basis (as political parties were banned).[2]
Around 96% of members of the electoral college voted in favour of Khan.[2] He was sworn in three days after the vote.[3]
