Voice of dissent: PPP’s K-P chapter opposes intra-party polls

Says it is not the right time because PTI has announced LG elections in Nov.

PESHAWAR: The provincial leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday advised against holding intra-party elections.

The party’s K-P chapter has been rife with disagreement after a group of influential leaders stood up against the provincial president Khanzada Khan and began demanding intra-party polls. They call themselves the likeminded faction.

This week, in a meeting with a committee formed by party’s core committee, the group insisted on holding the intra-party elections, insiders familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune.

The said committee has been formed to solicit opinions from party leaders and workers over the intra-party polls following the PPP’s core committee meeting which took place on Monday.

It is expected to present a report to the party’s central leadership within two weeks.

The committee members visited Peshawar and reportedly met the provincial chapter of the party at the residence of provincial general secretary Humayun Khan. They also held another meeting with leaders of the likeminded faction.

Not in favour

According to party insiders, the PPP’s provincial office-bearers told the committee it was not an appropriate time to hold intra-party polls as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced local government (LG) elections in November.

Party leaders also said that if National Assembly (NA) speaker accepts PTI’s resignation at least 16 seats from the province will fall vacant. The party could not afford to contest by-elections while it is in state of disarray, they maintained.

PPP Deputy Information Secretary Gohar Inqilabi told The Express Tribune the idea to hold intra-party polls was initially put forward by the party’s K-P chapter under its former president Anwar Saifullah Khan.

However, the PPP’s leadership had refused the suggestion and insisted the PPP was a national party and could not be reorganised in just one province.

However, now the party’s provincial cabinet believes this is not a suitable time to opt for intra-party polls as the local bodies elections are close. Inqilabi said reorganisation could not be completed over a period of six months or a year. He added this exercise is likely to take around
two years.

The other view

Meanwhile, the committee also met PPP leaders in favour of intra-party elections to solicit their opinion on the matter. According to a party insider, the leaders suggested intra-party polls should be held at a union, town, district and province level for the party’s offices.

The likeminded faction leaders insisted the party cannot participate in local bodies polls if it is not internally prepared and warned of a possible showdown between various factions in the party.

According to the insider, the party’s co-chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has also contacted them and said he was in favour of organising intra-party polls.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2014.