Seat adjustments seemingly unlikely as election looms

With barely a month remaining in elections, the political chessboard is going into a frenzy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), as stakeholders are deciding thorny issues like ticket allocation and seat adjustment so that they can successfully counter the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) juggernaut in the province.

Despite the PTI being out of favour with the powers that be, suffering backlash for May 9th, and its founding chairman in jail, the party’s vote bank and popularity in K-P is firmly intact, which is seemingly giving its opponents in the province sleepless nights.

Therefore, K-P’s mainstream parties like the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F), Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), and new entrants like Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), are now apparently in a rush to form alliances so that come February 8th the PTI can be stopped from forming a 3rd successive government in the province.

In this regard, the JUI-F has set up a negotiation committee, under the Chairmanship of Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman, which has met with leaders of ANP, PPP and PML-N, recently.

The spokesperson of the negotiation committee, Maulana Abdul Jalil Jan, while talking to the Express Tribune about the seat adjustment process, confirmed that the committee had met with key political figures from the province.

“However, a final decision has not been taken yet,” said Jan.When pressed for a timeline on the decision, Jan stated: “Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, will take the final decision in the next few days after reviewing the party’s electoral position in all districts.”

Similarly, Gohar Ali Inqilabi, the Information Secretary of the PPP in K-P, informed that nothing had been decided as of yet about seat adjustments.

Read Khattak rules out seat adjustment

“The PPP's seat adjustment plan at the provincial level, if any, is likely to materialise following the withdrawal of nomination papers on the 12th of January,” said Inqilabi.

The ANP’s stance is similar to that of the PPP. Samar Haroon Bilour, the party’s Information Secretary and Spokesperson, told the Express Tribune that discussions had been held with several parties but no final decision had been made as of yet. “The ANP welcomes everyone with open arms. However, if seat adjustments are not made, the ANP has no qualms contesting elections solo,” asserted Bilour.

Concurring with Bilour vis-a-vis contesting elections solo, Ikhtiar Wali, former parliamentary leader of the PML-N in the K-P Assembly, said that although the party had held discussions with other stakeholders, no final decision has been taken regarding seat allocation.

“If seat adjustments are not done, we will step into the electoral field on our own might.”Whereas, Parvez Khattak, the founding Chairman of the PTI-P, who has also served as the chief minister of the province, in an exclusive conversation with the Express Tribune, informed that his party’s elections preparations did not include making any alliances.

“We will not make any seat adjustments. We will fight elections on the strength of our public support and political manifesto,” asserted Khattak.

“Unity with others does not win elections, your contenders win you elections. Therefore, whichever party makes seat adjustments will suffer come election day,” he predicted.