Pakistan Peoples Party expresses concern over delay in announcement of elections

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has expressed concerns over the inclusion of the pro-Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) people in the caretaker cabinet, the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) ban on development projects in Sindh and the delay in the announcement of a date for general elections, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.

In a highly-anticipated meeting of its Central Executive Committee (CEC) on Thursday, the PPP leadership called on the electoral watchdog to hold general elections at the earliest, if not within the 90-day constitutional limit.

According to the Dawn, the PPP top brass was found in agreement with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari when it came to the timings of the elections, contrary to Asif Ali Zardari’s recent statement favouring a delay in elections due to fresh delimitations in light of the census that was approved by the coalition government days before the dissolution of the National Assembly. Some of the members expressed concern over the "aggressive tone" of the PPP chairperson in recent public gatherings. However, the PPP chairman and most of the members vowed to take the "same line of true and just politics” and take their stance in the election campaign, the Dawn reported.

Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the CEC meeting, PPP Information Secretary Shazia Marri said the CEC meeting will continue today to take stock of the president’s letter to the ECP suggesting holding polls by November 6, the current political situation, general elections, the inclusion of pro-PML-N people as ministers in the caretaker set-up, national economy, and a host of other issues.

Shazia Marri said that holding elections at the earliest was in the interest of Pakistan so that the country comes out of the present uncertainty. She said that the PPP has always backed conducting the polls within 90 days, whether in Punjab or elsewhere, according to the Dawn report. Marri said, “We do acknowledge that delimitation of constituencies after the new census is essential.

But, efforts should be made not to violate other constitutional provisions for the sake of one. Or at least any such violation should be as little as possible." She said the PPP had no objections to the delimitation of constituencies under the new census. However, it had reservations regarding the time that would be taken in the process. While responding to a question, Marri said that legal experts told the CEC participants that Pakistan President Arif Alvi did not have the power to write to the chief election commissioner or suggest any date for elections.

She said that Alvi's letter had caused confusion and added that Pakistan's President had no clear stance and was playing on both sides of the wicket, Dawn reported. Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Wednesday, in a letter to a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, proposed November 6 as the date of national elections, Dawn reported. Notably, the President’s advice to the CEC comes against the backdrop of divided opinions among stakeholders on the time frame for elections, according to Dawn's report.

Marri said that CEC members had reservations regarding the inclusion of former bureaucrats and PML-N confidants Ahad Cheema, Fawad Hassan Fawad and Umar Saif as ministers into the Pakistan caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar's cabinet. She said that the PPP wished all political parties should be on the same page on the issue of the election so that no one could raise objections to its results. She alleged that the PPP was facing discriminatory treatment from ECP as there was a ban on even the development works announced and executed by the party’s government before completing its tenure in Sindh and claimed that the caretaker setup was initiating new development projects without any hindrance in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.