After early campaign successes, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) saw a large upswing, especially as the son of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had become the face of the PPP campaign and was running for the first time for elections. The 28 year old drew massive crowds in his mother's former power base in Karachi, and many of those who flooded the streets to hear the young man speak carried pictures of his mother. Unmarred by the corruption scandals that had plagued the PPP in the past, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari pledged to reduce corruption through education and transparency. The PPP has promised to focus on improving the lives of ordinary Pakistanis through improvements to infrastructure and education. The party has also focused on equal rights for women and ethnic and religious minorities within Pakistan. There have also been strong condemnations of terrorism and violence, both from Islamic radicals as well as from the government.

The Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) had been fairing worse than hoped, as the corruption of the recently deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif dogged his brother, who was the new leader of the party. The PML-N campaigned on opening Pakistan to foreign investment through market liberalization, strong relations with Pakistan's neighbors, and support of traditional Islamic values.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) continues to have strong support, as their calls for reform resonate perhaps more clearly due to their lack of any history of institutional corruption (mostly due to their being a new party that hasn't held any power). They call for social, political and military reform. The sweeping program of reform appeals to many who have felt left out of Pakistani political life, but their middle class base might be too small to propel them to victory.

TL;DR Version:

• PPP: democratic socialists, social progressives. Pakistan's traditional left-wing party

• PML: free markets and Islam. Pakistan's traditional right-wing party. Long suspected of having material support from the military and Pakistani Intelligence (ISI).

• PTI: centrist "third way", calls for broad based reform. New kids on the block