KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has demanded holding of the general elections in the country within 90 days as required by the constitution, urging that pushing the country towards a constitutional and political crisis should be avoided through unjustified delay in the election.
PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman has said that her party will make its future strategy, in the light of the situation arising from the meeting of the party delegation with the top officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), in its next meeting of the Central Executive Committee due in Lahore.
PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman, Secretary General Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, former Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Shazia Mari and Faisal Karim Kundi held a presser at Media Cell Bilawal House to inform about the deliberations taken during the CEC meeting in Bilawal House.
PPPP urges ECP to hold polls within designated timeframe
Mir Changez Khan Jamali, Syed Hassan Murtaza, Ali Madad Jatak, Sardar Muhammad Yaqub Khan, Amjad Advocate and other leaders were also present.
Sherry Rehman told that the meeting of the CEC under the joint chair of Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari is still going on, adding that the representatives of all the provinces including the central leaders are present in the meeting.
She said that the focus of the meeting was on the country’s ongoing economic crisis, increasing poverty, increase in petrol and electricity tariff, and unchecked inflation as well as the solution to these problems. She said that the meeting also formulated a strategy for relief activities in view of the flood situation in Punjab.
Former federal minister said that the CEC meeting also reviewed the situation regarding the general elections in the country and the party has a clear stand in this regard that the constitution is clear regarding holding elections in 90 days, hence, there should be no ambiguity about it. “A delegation of the party will go to the Election Commission on August 29 and place the party’s position before the Election Commission. The future course of action will be made in the light of the reply received from the Chief Election Commissioner,” she added.
Rehman said that the PPP has serious reservations about the digital census, adding that elections cannot be delayed on the basis of delimitation of constituencies as numbers of seats remain unchanged in provinces according to the census.
She said that the CEC has decided that the party’s membership campaign will be launched across the country from next month. “The party is preparing its election manifesto,” adding that the party wants that the way the people’s government of Sindh has given relief to the flood victims and given land ownership rights to the people, this example should be followed in other provinces including Punjab.
PPP’s Vice President said that her party is also focusing on the rights of women and minorities. “Everyone has seen that our leaders visited Jaranwala to show solidarity. PPP’s manifesto is to give equal rights to all,” she continued.
In response to a question, former Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said: “Our aim was that the elections should be held on time, so we approved the census (in CCI),” adding that the recent census is not going to change the number of seats in assemblies.
He pointed out that it is clearly written in the constitution that elections will be held in 90 days. “This is not issue who will announce the election date, but the ECP is bound to hold general elections within 90 days,” he contended.
Meanwhile, Syed Nayyar Bukhari said that the constitution mentions holding general elections for 90 days, but delimitation of the constituencies are not mentioned. Faisal Karim Kundi said that if the ECP can manage holding the by-election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it means that the general elections in the country can also be held on time.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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