General election: Jamaat-e-Islami to fight solo

The party will make seat adjustments to improve its chances.

PESHAWAR:

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Munawwar Hassan said on Saturday that his party would go solo in the upcoming general election. 

Addressing a gathering of the Islami Jamiat Talaba at JI’s provincial headquarters Al Markaz Al-Islami, Hassan said his party has finally decided to contest the elections on its own with its election symbol, a scale and its own flag. JI will opt for seat adjustment with other parties, he added.

Hassan said the JI’s provincial chapters would enter into talks with other political parties to make seat adjustments in the polls. Provincial leaders have also been directed to present their reports to the party’s central leadership after holding discussions with other parties at the earliest.

The JI chief stressed the role of an independent election commission in holding fair elections.

Free and fair polls are necessary to prevent the country’s descent into anarchy and chaos, he stated.

He also asked Senator Raza Rabbani to clearly tell the nation, which forces were bent on postponing elections in the country and bringing in a caretaker setup for three years.

“It is not enough to say that there is a conspiracy to derail democracy in this country,” the JI chief said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2013.