Meeting was held at the residence of PPP leader Najmuddin Khan. PHOTO: EXPRESS
The recently-revived tripartite alliance of opposition parties in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has decided to contest upcoming local government (LG) polls under one electoral symbol.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the alliance—comprising the Awami National Party, Pakistan Peoples Party and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl—held at the residence of senior PPP leader Najmuddin Khan in Peshawar.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, ANP Central General Secretary and leader of the alliance Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the tripartite union has carved out four separate zones in the province. “We have set up zonal committees and asked them to present reports on the strength of the three parties in the regions to the leaders of the alliance,” he added.
According to the ANP central general secretary, the leaders of the tripartite alliance will visit all zones and meet local leaders of the three parties to devise a suitable strategy for the LG polls. “The alliance plans to field candidates from all districts of the province,” he said.
Hussain said LG polls were being conducted on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. “However, the K-P government is trying to delay holding the polls,” he said.
“The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government was not able to fulfil its initial promise of holding LG polls within 90 days.”
Hussain lauded the judiciary’s decision to force governments to hold the elections to transfer power to the grass roots. He urged the judiciary to supervise the upcoming polls as he feared the government was trying to rig the elections.
“Local bodies’ polls must be conducted in a free and fair manner,” he said. “I strongly urge the government to stop the disbursement of development funds and refrain from transferring and posting government officials until the elections are held.”
The ANP leader said the tripartite alliance would also approach the courts regarding the disbursement of development funds.
“The Election Commission of Pakistan should also take notice of this,” he added.
Party and non-party
Mian Iftikhar voiced reservations over the provincial government’s decision to hold village council elections on a strictly non-party basis.
“It is strange that the K-P government has decided to hold polls in village councils on a non-party-basis and elections at the tehsil and district council levels on a party basis,” he said. “We have already challenged this in court and the hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. However, there are likely to be delays in the case since the government has yet to submit its replies.”
Battle lines drawn
Addressing a party meeting in Mardan, ANP K-P President Amir Haider Khan Hoti said they will soon announce their candidates for the LG polls.
He pressed party workers to start prepping for the polls to ensure the right people are elected.
“The government has repeatedly emphasised the importance of merit,” he said. “However, its own lawmakers have failed to put these principles into practice.”
Hoti said ANP represents the interest of the Pukhtuns. “Although we were not able to win the general elections, PTI’s performance since May 2013 has opened the eyes of the public. We will give the government a tough time in LG polls.”
At the meeting, PPP senior leader and former MPA Shazia Aurangzeb announced her decision to join ANP.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2015.
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