Christian Democrats to boycott LG polls

Party says it reserves right to protest nationwide

LAHORE:

Christian Democratic Party (CDP) chairman Ben-Hur Yousaf Gill on Friday announced the categorical boycott of the “discriminatory” local government elections in the Punjab.

In a statement issued on Friday, the CDP chief said the elections would remain bereft of credibility without the participation of the nation’s religious minorities. He said the imposed “selection not election” of religious minorities on reserved seats in the polls did not bode well for aspiring non-Muslim leaders. Gill said it was unfortunate that challenges confronting religious minorities were not even considered national issues. He said the discriminatory nature of the local government electoral system amounted to a conspiracy against the nation’s peaceful and patriotic Christians.

Gill said the local bodies electoral system was discriminatory, ineffective and a flagrant violation of Article 226 of the Constitution. “The elections will create more political and social slaves by ensuring that the self-styled representatives of religious minorities remain at the mercy of their political overlords,” he said. Gill said the electoral system also flouted Articles 140-A and 36 of the Constitution.

He said the violation of fundamental, constitutional, social and religious rights of religious minorities in the political sphere had been taking place since a long time. Gill said the dastard rulers of the nation wanted to keep religious minorities enslaved by using a discriminatory electoral system in the Punjab. He said this was sheer injustice.

He said the rulers wanted religious minorities to remain doormats. The CDP chief said they had also introduced selection instead of following constitutional provisions governing elections on seats reserved for religious minorities, women, labour and youngsters.

Gill said there was a particular mindset prevalent in the nation that was inimically disposed towards religious minorities. He said such elements wanted to suppress and control religious minorities by constitutional tyranny and electoral discrimination.

The CDP chief said these reasons had compelled it to categorically boycott the elections that would ensure that religious minorities remained politically disenfranchised. He called on the election commission of Pakistan (ECP), the judiciary and the government to be given their rights for the polls in accordance with Article 226. He said the CDP reserved the right to protest nationwide.

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