Planning to win: PML-N drawing up panels of provincial legislators

Focal persons to assist team of experts known for panel making skills

ISLAMABAD:

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) is increasingly turning to strategic planning to reach its goals. Nowhere perhaps is this more visible than in the party’s overarching campaign to bag more seats in the Senate.

The party is currently making panels of members of provincial assemblies who will vote for assigned Senate candidates of the PML-N, sources in the party told The Express Tribune. The senators from the four provinces are elected by members of the provincial legislatures.



In all the four provinces, the party leadership has appointed focal persons who have been asked to assist a team of experts known for panel making skills, sources close to the PML-N said. The move is aimed at ensuring the success of the party’s senators. The panel for each Senate candidate will be responsible for casting votes in favour of whomever they have been asked for.

Under a single transferable vote, an elector’s vote is initially allocated to his or her most-preferred candidate. After candidates have been either elected (winners) by reaching quota or eliminated (losers), surplus votes are transferred from winners to the remaining hopeful candidates according to the surplus ballots’ ordered preferences.

In Punjab, for instance, a candidate will need to get 47 votes while his surplus votes would be transferred to the other hopeful candidate for the general seat. The number of votes can be changed due to the attendance of the provincial members. Similarly, for Sindh it is 22 votes, 16.5 for K-P and 9 for Balochistan.

Punjab

In Punjab, PML-N has 312 members out of total 371 members of the house. The party has fielded a total of 11 candidates with the aim to bag all seats. Sources said that the PML-N senior leadership is worried about two “bad decisions” of the party: one, fielding three Sindhis and two, ignoring South Punjab.

Sources said that former law minister Punjab, Rana Sanaullah Khan, has proposed that MPAs from South Punjab should constitute the panel that votes for non-Sindhi candidates.

MPAs from Lahore, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala and Faisalabad division would be put in panels which would be exclusive for the Sindhi candidates. Senator Pervez Rashid and Dr Ghous Niazi would depend on votes of MPAs of South Punjab. The MPAs from Rawalpindi division would be asked to cast their vote in favour of Ch Tanveer.

According to sources, Rana Sanaullah is responsible for making sure that votes are cast according to the planned strategy, and for convincing disgruntled MPAs to comply with the leadership’s decisions.

Inside sources said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has fielded Nadeem Afzal Chan, who is dependent on MPAs of South Punjab.

Balochistan

Some 22 MPAs in Balochistan Assembly have expressed their reservations over decision of awarding Senate tickets to the party candidates. The PML-N has fielded six candidates from there and is anxious to win all.

Sources said that according to the party’s MPAs, PML-N’s Balochistan President Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri has managed to lay his hands on two Senate tickets - one for his real brother and the second for his brother-in-law. MPAs have also expressed their reservations over awarding the party ticket to Kulsoom Perveen.

Sindh

In Sindh Assembly, the party has eight members. Despite such a small number of votes, it has fielded Syed Zafar Ali Shah.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

Though the PML-N has mustered the support of 17 MPAs in K-P, it has fielded only one of them, ie, Lt General (r) Salahuddin Trimzi.  Sources said that K-P Governor Sardar Mehtab Khan Abbasi has drawn up the panel on the basis of packages and deals.

Islamabad

The PML-N has a net strength of 189 members in the National Assembly. But with the support of other parties the PML-N strength grows to 215 members.  On the basis of this many votes, the PML-N is sure to win both the seats.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2015.