PPP leaders demand G-B election on time

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders have demanded that elections in Gilgit-Baltistan be held on time and judicial officers instead of administrative officers be appointed as district returning officers for the polls.

Elections for the Legislative Assembly of G-B would be held on November 15, according to an official notification. The opposition has urged the government to ensure free and fair elections in the mountainous region.

Addressing a joint press conference on Sunday, PPP leaders Syed Nayyar Bukhari and Farhatullah Babar said that a meeting of parliamentary leaders on G-B could be convened by the leader of the house.

They echoed their party chairman, Bilawal Bhutto’s call that parties who participated in the All Parties Conference (APC) would not attend any G-B-related meeting convened by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.

Bilawal, in a tweet the other day, said the National Assembly speaker and federal ministers have nothing to do with elections in G-B. “We condemn the interference of the federal government in the elections. My party will only be engaged with the Election Commission GB on our demands for fair elections,” his tweet read.

Quoting a statement of the APC, the PPP leaders said the opposition parties had agreed for timely and transparent elections in G-B without any political interference.

The all-party confab was held on September 20 in which a 26-point declaration was issued. The participants comprising 12 parties had agreed and bound themselves by the declaration and action plan.

Nayyar Bukhari, who is the party secretary general, said the G-B’s election commission is separate from the Election Commission of Pakistan, as the former has adopted the Elections 2017 Act that is in force in the country. He urged the chief election commissioner for G-B to appoint judicial officers in place of administrative officers as returning officers for the elections.

“Reports are coming about the appointment of administrative officers as returning officers, which is a measure tantamount to pre-poll rigging,” Bukhari said.

The NA speaker does not have the jurisdiction over G-B, he said, adding that any meeting for G-B can instead be convened by the leader of the house. He further said that the Senate chairman also had no authority in this regard.

The PPP leaders also pointed out that G-B gets snow-capped every year by November 15 and its residents migrate to the plains. The ECP should make arrangements for them to cast their votes, they demanded.

They also said that the mountainous region did not have proper set up of the election commission while the ECP should fulfill its responsibilities and take action against the ministers who were interfering in the electoral process.

In the 2018 elections, they said the PPP as per its manifesto had promised that it would give the people of G-B their constitutional rights.