LG elections: Imran Khan asks Qureshi to steer PTI poll campaign

Vice chairman will coordinate with party stakeholders to identify potential candidates

ISLAMABAD:

Imran Khan has assigned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi the responsibility of overseeing the party campaigning for the upcoming Local Government (LG) polls in all the provinces. He will coordinate with all the stakeholders to identify the potential candidates.

“The vice chairman will work in collaboration with provincial and local organisations to identify the candidates and make full preparations for the forthcoming local bodies elections including in the cantonment boards,” said a statement issued by the PTI chairman on Sunday.

On the one hand, the PTI has started its homework. On the other, it has rejected the government’s decision of holding the LG polls in the cantonment areas of the country on non-party basis.

In this regard, PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry had challenged the decision in the court. “The case is likely to be taken up on Monday [today],” he said while talking to The Express Tribune, adding, “the PTI will contest [LG polls] with its election symbol and will not accept party-less elections.”

He argued, “If the cantonment areas can vote for [political] parties in elections of the national and provincial assemblies then why can’t they vote to parties for local government [polls].”

To a question about the recently passed bill by the National Assembly for the LG polls in Islamabad, he said, “We will challenge it once it becomes an Act of the Constitution.”

In addition, the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has also raised objections over the party-less LG polls in the federal capital and challenged the same procedure envisaged for the cantonment boards.

The PTI Punjab president said he has already written a letter to the party for establishment of district committees, adding that the committees, after consultations, would nominate candidates.

Though the PTI has decided to contest the LG polls in alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he said the party does not have any need to go for any political alliance in Punjab. However, we will launch a campaign all across the country in the leadership of chairman… will ask every district to prepare its own manifesto.

“The manifestos of metropolitans, municipal corporations, town committee, municipal committee and district committee would be different,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2015.