No going solo: Candidates contesting independently get the boot

Never asked party for tickets, says PML-N district president

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Peshawar chapter has cancelled the membership of all those party workers who are contesting local government polls as independent candidates.

PML-N Peshawar President Abdul Sattar Khalil told The Express Tribune on Monday all those party workers or leaders who have filed their nomination papers with the Election Commission of Pakistan in Peshawar without party tickets and are contesting independently against other candidates of PML-N are no more members of the party.

According to Khalil, eight PML-N activists are competing independently for seats also being contested by those who have the party ticket. “I have submitted an application at the party’s provincial office over the issue which will soon be discussed with the leadership of PML-N in the province,” said Khalil. “As president for the Peshawar chapter, I have the authority to cancel the membership of a worker in the district as permitted by the party’s constitution.”

Khalil has spoken to the eight party workers over the phone but they have not withdrawn their nomination papers and are instead asking the public for votes in the name of PML-N. Khalil refused to share the names of the workers in order to keep their identities hidden.

“They did not approach us when we were distributing party tickets for the polls and now they are contesting against party candidates as independents.”

Khalil was optimistic about the party’s success in the local government polls in Peshawar and across the province. “Like in the cantonment board elections, the party will bag seats in the LG polls too,” he said. “We ask the public to vote for PML-N if they want their problems to be solved because we are in the government on the federal level and can get help from federal ministries for development schemes.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2015.