ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have agreed not to push for local government elections ahead of the parliamentary polls scheduled for early next year.
Top leaders from the country’s two largest political parties came to the consensus during their talks earlier this year which culminated in the unanimous passage of the 20th Constitutional Amendment.
Insiders from both sides confirmed to The Express Tribune on Sunday that withholding the local government elections – a system introduced by ousted military ruler Pervez Musharraf to devolve powers to the grassroots level – was part of the negotiations.
“We have agreed not to force the issue. We feared there would be political complications which should be avoided,” an official revealed.
On the surface, the talks were aimed at giving legal cover to the election of more than two dozen members of parliament (MPs) suspended by the Supreme Court — on the pretext that they were elected during the period when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was not complete, following the passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment back in 2010.
Officials said that though the two parties specifically decided contours of the transition that has to take place after the fresh parliamentary polls later this year or by March 2013, an understanding on local government polls was also the outcome of the intense parleys that lasted for more than a week.
The revelation came three days after the Supreme Court asked all top legal officers of the provinces and the attorney general to submit a schedule for the local government elections.
Officials from both the PPP and PML-N, however, did not admit that there was “secret deal or understanding” to withhold the local government elections. Rather, they kept on pinning blame on each other for the delay.
PPP Punjab chapter leader Raja Riaz said that it was the provincial administration led by the PML-N that was shying away from seeking votes from people despite PPP’s willingness to accept the challenge.
He, however, did not specify why the PPP did not go for local elections in provinces other than Punjab.
“I can only talk about Punjab,” he said.
PML-N spokesperson Senator Mushahidullah Khan said his party did not see any possibility of local government elections ahead of the parliamentary polls because the electoral rolls were not complete and the task might take ECP some more time.
He, however, denied that his party had any secret deals with the PPP to delay the elections.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 16th, 2012.
COMMENTS (16)
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Again Imran Khan proved upright. Both r same and two sides of one coin.
Samjhota express ! both parties are the same #incompetent #corrupt
@hasan For God sake think before buying this baseless argument . PTI's stance is not same is PPP n PMLN .. PTI is continously asking for correct electoral rolls not just for local elections but for G.E as well. And their stance was the same for By-Elections as well but despite their concerns and reservation election commission gave a go ahead n latter so many anchors on TV programs proved that lots of votes were still bogus.
on one hand you are linking PTI with PMLN n PPP stance and on other hand you bashed PTI for boycotting by-elections for the very same stance? how hypocrites can you guys be to stand by your side without doing in-depth analysis. PTI is same on all elections not just local bodies elections but every single elections. PPP m PMLN both are scared as they know this will cause them problems in general elections as almost all the EX-NAZIMs and EX-Councillors are with PTI now.
Why would PPP n PMLN not delay the by-election if the electoral rolls were not completed despite proof given to SC and EC? and why are they delaying the local bodies elections based on the same argument? can't you just think positively for a moment or two? can't you just man up and buy a rival party's theory/argument for argument's sake? can't you just open your eyes for a moment and look around with a different perspective? Where is Pakistan in all this? It's all either PPP or PMLN or for that matter Anti-PTI .. there is nowhere Pakistan in all this. shame on us all
i wonder when ET writes anything about PTI, its blamed for taking sides, and people are happy to see unconfirmed reports of something. compare comments in this news and the one regarding shah mahmood quraishi's differences with imran khan
@Hassan PTI has its own agenda not a combined agenda like PML(N) and PPP have!
IK is corrent ...... there is no difference between PLMN and PPP,
As expected from PPP and PMLN...
I think PTI's stance in this regard is very good. They proposed to delegate powers at lowest level... DELEGATE AND EMPOWER...
Hands in Glove. Both are against the welfare of general public
@Hasan
If I am not mistaken the same Sharifs participated in the by-election in Punjab, their own province on these same bogus lists. What happened to the electoral system verified new electoral lists then?
LG systems are crucial to good governance, but here as well PPP and PML-N consider politics as ABOVE everything else, including the welfare of the people. They should have held these elections long ago, but they want to keep power and MONEY in their own hands.
Orders of SC or Not........The Question is why has there been never LG elections ever conducted in Democratic Set-up ????? and only under the Martial Law to find legitimacy the LG elections were conducted........ A Big Question ????
@Tabish Bilgrami: All they are saying that to postpone these elections as new election voters lists are not ready. Imran Khan stance is also same and not only PMLN and PPP but PTI stance is same on local body elections. It is a good step that bogus votes are being removed and a new electoral system is going to be in place with new original registered voters. Also other than Punjab in other provinces PMLN is not in power. Just ask the respective parties why elections are not going to held there as well.
Against the orders of SC? So much to respect the Judiciary and Law by the two brothers Nawaz and Zardari.
these people are so power hungry and they dont want to transfer the due power no wonder people dance on the street when army takes over.... these people will never learn...
You scratch my back and i ................, shameful conduct of PMLN and PPP ruined our country, oh Allah please help us to get rid of these parties.