ISLAMABAD:
Despite initial hiccups, the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and its coalition partner Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid have devised a broader strategy for contesting the upcoming elections as an alliance.
While PPP’s other coalition partners, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Awami National Party, have made it clear they will contest the polls independently, talks between the ruling party and PML-Q appear to have entered the decisive phase.
After the conclusion of the initial round of talks, the two parties will give final touches to their joint plan over the next few weeks. PML-Q leaders, who met Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Wednesday night, will be meeting President Asif Ali Zardari in the coming days. Meanwhile, another round of talks is scheduled for today (Friday) in Lahore.
On Thursday, PML-Q information secretary Kamil Ali Agha announced the party had reached an agreement with PPP and the two parties would contest the upcoming elections together.
Elaborating some aspects of the joint plan, Agha said that candidates of either party will be given preference in constituencies where the respective party won in the previous elections. However, in constituencies where the parties’ candidate won but switched loyalties to another party later, PPP and PML-Q will award a ticket based on a candidate’s likelihood of election rather than party affiliation. The same principle will apply in constituencies which the two parties lost in the previous election, he added. Agha said PPP and PML-Q will be compiling lists of potential candidates in the coming days and will conduct the joint analysis before finalising them.
PML-Q had earlier conveyed reservations against what they termed covert efforts by PPP Punjab chapter president Manzoor Whatto to woo its lawmakers into switching over to the ruling party. There were reports suggesting many leading PML-Q legislators and workers would join PPP before the polls. The PML-Q leadership had threatened to pull out of the alliance if attempts to woo its workers were not stopped.
According to sources, President Zardari had to intervene himself in order to put an end to the attempts.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 8th, 2013.
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okayyyy, so PPP and PMLQ are close to alliance. PTI and qadri are close to alliance. qadri and PMLQ are close to alliance. does that mean that PTI is close to alliance with PPP?
PML-n will be routed in Punjab in the upcoming elections
Politics in Pakistan is the biggest joke ever. We need to use our votes wisely on election day. PTI all the way !!
Both are failed parties. No hopes from both. Only hope is Nawaz Sharif.
Both are sensing their defeat in coming elections due to their poor performance in last 5 years.
There will not be any PML (Q) after the election. PPP knows this and will not be fooled by Chaudrys who will have hard time to secure their own seats.