Senate elections: Zardari wants govt to summon APC to tackle horse trading

Hopes that the apparent realization by the government is not just a political gimmick

ISLAMABAD: Former president and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday urged the government to convene an ‘all parties conference’ (APC) to address the problem of horse trading in Senate elections.

While welcoming the government’s proposal to amend the Conduct Senate elections through show of hands instead of secret balloting, the former president said that electoral rigging and horse trading at multiple levels was a major issue that lies at the root of manipulation of power transfer and needs to be addressed comprehensively.

In a statement issued by PPP’s media office, the former president said that issues of electoral reforms and preventing horse trading should be addressed by all parties together and not by the government alone, rather the government should convene an all parties meeting. This meeting will be tasked to address reservations and issues surrounding the Senate elections including horse trading, electoral fraud and rigging of all types including those which were recently raised by Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The PPP co-chairman expressed the hope that the apparent realisation of issues in Senate elections by the government was more than just a political gimmick.

“We recently witnessed the near break down of the civilian and political structures due to the demonstrations and protests against fraud and rigging in the 2013 general elections,” the former President said.

“The parliament and the government were saved from total collapse by the unprecedented unity and commitment of political but it should not lull us into believing that issues in electoral fraud will not rear their ugly heads in the future.”