PDM in limbo as Fazl shuns NA by-elections

The parties included in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) could not even finalise the names of their candidates due to the refusal of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the head of the ruling alliance in the centre, to participate in the by-elections of the National Assembly (NA).

It has been clarified by the allied parties that if Fazl sticks to his declaration of not participating in the election, then his candidates will not contest the election.

The parties included in PDM, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF), have not yet decided their candidates for the by-elections of the NA.

In this regard, on contacting these parties, The Express Tribune was told that they would enter the electoral field and the candidates will also submit their nomination papers, however, if the PDM chief maintains his decision not to participate in the election, then their candidates will withdraw their papers as well.

PML-N Provincial Information Secretary Ikhtiar Wali confirmed to The Express Tribune that if Fazl sticks to his decision their candidates would not be able to go ahead since the JUI-F chief is also the head of the ruling alliance.

Sources in the PPP said that due to the lingering confusion, they could not even finalise the names of their candidates.

In a meeting last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman had discussed chalking out a strategy regarding the upcoming elections to the provincial assemblies.

It may be noted here that former prime minister Imran Khan has doubled down on his demand for timely polls in KP and Punjab, as he linked his party’s participation in the multi-party conference — summoned in the wake of a surge in terror attacks — with the announcement of a date for the elections.

The huddles come after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suggested elections in Punjab between April 9 and 13, and in KP between April 15 and 17. Similarly, the ECP is also gearing up for the by-elections on 93 NA seats, which fell vacant after the acceptance of PTI lawmakers’ resignations.

The leadership also discussed the option of delaying the elections on the pretext of the delay in the population census. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has already delayed the launch of the country’s first-ever digital census by a month, citing “unavoidable circumstances” and “ground realities”. Earlier scheduled for Feb 1, the census will now begin from March 1 and will continue for a month.

In October 2021, the previous PTI government green-lit the digital census and scheduled it for Oct 2022, which was then deferred to February 2023.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2023.