Party-less politics: PTI to contest local elections as Insaf Group

Committees formed at the tehsil, district level to interview potential candidates.

LAHORE:

If the upcoming local bodies’ elections are held on a party-less basis, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf will participate as Insaf Group, PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry told The Express Tribune on Saturday.

“We hope that the Lahore High Court will accept PTI’s demand for elections on a party basis,” he said, “Otherwise, we will approach the Supreme Court for a review of the decision.”

He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz wanted to hijack the mandate of the electorate by holding party-less polls because it had become unpopular due to its anti-people policies during the past five months. “We have been working hard for these elections and will not allow rigging – before or after polling- this time,” he said.



Chaudhry said that the party had constituted committees at the district and tehsil/town levels to recommend suitable candidates. “The committees will ensure that only competent and loyal candidates contest under the Insaf Group’s banner,” he said.

Chaudhry said if elections were held on party basis, the PTI would issue tickets and campaign for its candidates.

In case of elections on a party-less basis, the PTI will provide a list of its candidates from all union councils and tehsil and district councils to the media to prevent confusion among voters, Chaudhry said.

“If the government tries to use state machinery to harass our candidates and voters, as it did in the by-elections, we will respond forcefully,” he said.

The PTI leader said that the committees were in the process of interviewing potential candidates. These will be completed soon so the candidates have sufficient time to campaign.



“We will plan a door-to-door campaign to motivate the voters,” he said. “The youth will be given priority while picking the candidates.”

Omer Zahir Mir, a PTI office bearer, said the PML-N wanted to hold elections on a party-less basis because it had a habit of “buying the loyalties of winning candidates”.

“The PTI will allow them no such chance,” said Mir. “We will strongly protest against any attempts to that effect.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2013.