ISLAMABAD: It’s official; the PTI leadership has decided they will contest elections for the Senate. According to the PTI media cell, the decision came following a marathon core committee meeting that saw heated debate among the party leadership.

However, at a presser held earlier on Friday, while the core committee was still in session, PTI Chairman Imran Khan said the party needed more time to decide whether to become part of the parliament that was formed after “farcical” general elections.

But following the official announcement, the PTI is finally going to become part of the same parliament that Mr Khan protested against and derided for the 126 days of his sit-in outside Parliament House.

Sources close to the core committee told Dawn that the decision was pushed through by the party’s power financiers, while members from the Punjab and Sindh chapters as well as certain party MNAs expressed reservations.

But following the decision, differences also surfaced over the party’s candidates, who would be elevated to the upper house of parliament, sources said.

As part of its protest against the government, the PTI had resigned from the National Assembly and two provincial assemblies — Punjab and Sindh.

Also read: Some in PTI vying for Senate tickets

Lawmakers from these legislatures are unhappy with the decision and are asking why the party has now chosen to become part of the same parliament that had been the target of a massive protest and whose very constitution is disputed due to the allegations of widespread rigging in the 2013 general elections.

Lawmakers from Punjab, Sindh and overseas members all want seats in the upper house; KP MPAs insist only candidates from their province should get tickets

“We are out of the assemblies, but, our colleagues from KP are not only enjoying the perks of government, but, now they will have the privilege to vote in the Senate elections,” a PTI MNA told Dawn on condition of anonymity. “This is a clear contradiction on our part and our adversaries will surely raise questions,” he said.

But now that the PTI has decided to take the plunge, Mr Khan will be confronted with the daunting challenge of picking for the upper house.

PTI leaders from Punjab and Sindh argue that since party lawmakers from KP are already reaping the benefits of being in government, the party should let someone from among their ranks reach the Senate.

But they are not the only ones campaigning for seats. The party’s financiers, the same group that pushed for the decision to be taken in the first place, are likely to push for the chance to run for the Senate, a party office bearer confided to Dawn.

“After the core committee decided to contest the Senate elections, a suggestion was tabled that candidates be chosen from among the PTI’s overseas members, who had bankrolled the party’s extended protests,” a participant of the meeting told Dawn.

But the party’s KP chapter remains unmoved. They maintain that since it is they who will be voting in the Senate elections, only party candidates from their province should be awarded tickets. According to the current party positions in the KP assembly, the PTI may be able to return around five senators.

PTI MNA Dr Arif Alvi, acknowledging the differences over candidature for the Senate elections, said that the core committee continuously discussed the issue for well over five hours. “Since the Senate is a permanent institution, the party leadership decided to become a part of it.

If we didn’t participate, the party would have missed out in playing its due role, which will benefit the party in the coming years,” Dr Arif explained. Even if the National Assembly is dissolved for whatever reason, under the Constitution, the Senate remains intact.

Earlier in the day, the PTI chairman vilified the secret ballot system for voting in the Senate elections, saying that his KP lawmakers had been offered Rs30 million each to vote against their party.

“If somebody from the PTI is found involved in such practices, they will not remain in the party,” he vowed.

Published in Dawn January 31st, 2015

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