Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian (PPPP), Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) have decided to field their joint candidates for the offices of town nazims and district nazim in the Lahore district. The local heads of the PPPP, PML-N and MMA announced this, while addressing a joint press conference here on Monday.
PPPP Lahore president Haji Azizur Rehman Chan said: "The government has broken all the previous records of rigging in the local bodies' elections. The government is continuously making fun of the elections, while results of successful candidates of the opposition parties are being changed on behest of the Punjab chief minister and former district nazim of Lahore."
The people of Lahore have voted in favour of democracy and against the dictatorship, he added.
PML (N) Lahore president Haji Muhammad Hanif said that the ruling party has murdered the 'public mandate' by changing results in 10 union councils of the Lahore district where candidates, backed by opposition parties, have won the elections. "We would collectively contest the elections of town nazim and district nazim and would give tough time to the government candidates," he added.
MASSIVE RIGGING: Speaking on this occasion, MMA Lahore president Hafiz Salman Butt said that in the recent LB polls, massive rigging was committed. "The people have rejected General Musharraf's policies and supported the opposition."
There were news about clean sweep by the opposition-backed candidates but results of 700 seats out of 1950 were changed soon after announcement of preliminary results, he added.
"We had demanded holding of LB polls under the supervision of judiciary but the subordinate judiciary also disappointed the people," he said, adding, "we would continue struggle against General Pervez Musharraf's policies till the army returns to the barracks." "We have planned one-to-one contest for Lahore district nazim," Butt said.
Responding to a question, he said that the opposition parties had 74 seats of union council nazims out of which results of 10 seats have been changed. To another question, he said, "we would announce district nazim candidate with consensus."