Rigging concerns: ‘ROs for local govt polls must be impartial’

PPP central Punjab president urges the judiciary to appoint ROs

LAHORE:

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Punjab president Manzoor Wattoo said that returning officers should be appointed from the judiciary for the local government elections. Addressing a press conference, Wattoo said if the government appointed civil servants to oversee the local government elections, the results would be suspect.

The PPP president said district leaders of the party had been directed to contact other parties for seat-to-seat adjustments.

He said PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s speech on Saturday had re-energised party workers.



“The workers are happy the leadership will no longer follow a policy of reconciliation,” he said. “They are ready to play their role to strengthen the party.”

He said Barrister Amir Hasan had been nominated as PPP’s candidate for the NA-122 by-election. He said Iftikhar Shahid would contest on the party’s ticket from PP-147.

Wattoo said the Election Commission of Pakistan had announced the schedule for by-polls and warned lawmakers against using development funds for their campaigns. “That is pre-poll rigging. It will not be allowed,” the PPP president said.

Wattoo criticised the government’s agriculture policy.

“The government is treating farmers badly.” he said. He said if the government did not accept demands of protesting farmers, there could be serious consequences for the ruling party.  “More than 70 per cent of our economy relies on the agriculture sector,” Wattoo said. “The government is bent on breaking the backbone of the economy.”

He said the PPP stood with the farmers and would not abandon them.

“Traders are also resisting the government’s taxation policy but they have also been ignored,” he said. He criticised the government over the Nandipur Power Project.

“The project has been completed at a cost of Rs82 billion though initially Rs21 billion had been budgeted for it,” he said. “However, it is still not fully functional.”

Wattoo said the PPP supported Pakistan Army’s Operation Zarb-i-Azb.

“We will not forget the sacrifices of our soldiers,” he said. He said the PPP had always opposed terrorism and extremism. “We lost our leader to terrorism. We will always support efforts to restore peace in the country.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th,  2015.