ECP assures PPP elections will not be delayed

Party expresses apprehensions petitions filed for postponement

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has assured the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) delegation that there will be no delay in the upcoming general elections as the party leaders expressed apprehensions that there are petitions seeking postponement.

The development came during a meeting of the PPP delegation comprising Senator Taj Haider, Saeed Ghani, Nasir Hussain Shah, Faisal Karim Kundi, and Hasan Murtaza with Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja here on Monday.

During the meeting, the PPP leaders said that they had been assured that the petitions requesting delay in the elections would be declared inadmissible.

Kundi said they had asked the CEC to allow election campaigning on social media.

لائیو: پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے رہنما الیکشن کمیشن آفس کے باہر میڈیا سے گفتگو کررہے ہیں https://t.co/tQGrK1BqAi

— Pakistan Peoples Party - PPP (@PPP_Org) December 11, 2023

“The people of Pakistan will give mandate to political parties and we will support the party which the people will give mandate to.”

Kundi said that they had come on the instructions of party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, adding: “We made it clear that we will not tolerate any delay in the elections.

Read More: ECP to announce polls schedule in a few days: CEC

“We were told that the election schedule will be released soon. We also put forward some of our complaints, to which the Election Commission gave a positive response. The Peoples Party has full confidence in the ECP.”

In response to a question, Kundi said, "The PML-N sometimes says that the talk has been done and sometimes they say that the match is fixed."

He said accused the PML-N of pushing all institutions into politics. “We suffer from selected and Ladlas we can no longer bear a ‘selected ladla’.”

While talking to the media outside the ECP Secretariat, Senator Taj Haider highlighted that the PPP, in discussions with the chief election commissioner, underscored the significance of holding elections on schedule and expressed no intention of any delays.

CEC Raja proposed sending objections promptly to him via WhatsApp, Haider said, adding that the PPP had also submitted suggestions to make the whole electoral process more transparent.

Read More: PPP lambasts PML-N for trying to delay polls

Haider mentioned that the delegation, constituted by Bilawal and representing various leaders of provinces, also raised objections regarding transfers and postings.

He said the PPP asked CEC to avoid hearings on election postponement requests.

The delegation also advocated for promptly uploading postal ballot applications on the Election Commission's website.

(With input from APP)