Pakistan People's Party Punjab President Manzoor Wattoo has demanded Election Commission of Pakistan to withdraw a petition seeking the postponement of the forthcoming Local Bodies' elections in the Punjab and Sindh, because of the floods. "If the elections could be held in wars, why the same could not take place in floods?" he questioned.
His comments came in a press conference on Saturday, where he blamed the Punjab chief minister for concentration of power, claiming that he wanted to use billions of rupees to spend on the elections. He said his party would never accept returning officers from the Punjab government. "Returning officers should consist of judicial officers and the elections should take place under the Pakistan Rangers and the army, instead of the Punjab police," he demanded.
He said the commission should provide an opportunity of transferring their votes after completion of the delimitation process and that his party leadership had demanded the central leadership of abandoning the policy of reconciliation and played the role of an effective opposition. "The party still firmly believes that the 2013 elections were of returning officers' elections, but accepts the results for the worthwhile cause of democracy," he added.