LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Ideological Workers’ Group leader Ejaz Chaudhry has withdrawn from the PTI Punjab president candidature and announced contesting election for a council member in the centre.

In the absence of Mr Chaudhry, the favourite candidates for the Punjab president slot are: Dr Yasmin Rashid, Rai Azizullah and Waleed Iqbal while Umer Sarfraz Cheema, Muhammad Khan Madni and Shafqat Mahmood are also in the run.

In the Ideological Workers’ Group meeting on Sunday, it is learnt, a six-member committee, headed by Hamid Khan, had been constituted to finalise the Punjab and district presidents. The committee, comprising Saifullah Khan Niazi, Ejaz Chaudhry, Malik Suhail Kamrial, Amer Kiyani and Dr Abuul Hassan, is expected to finalise the candidates soon.

“The candidates and committee members clearly reflect that the Ejaz Chaudhry group and Insaf Markaz have formed a ‘united front’ to contest against the ‘status quo group’,” a PTI senior leader commented.

Speaking to Dawn, some of the candidates acknowledged that they had reposed complete confidence in the committee and would be bound to accept its decision.

While confusion was prevailing about the process of intra-party election, a committee member told Dawn that the chairman’s four-member committee and election commission members had reached a consensus that besides the chairman, nine council members would be elected through the popular votes.

Similarly, at the provincial level, besides president’s slot, eight council members would be elected. While, at regional, districts and tehsils’ levels four council members each would be elected through popular votes.

“A voter will be required to cast two votes at each tier – one for the chairman or president and one for council member,” a committee member said and added that the top nine, eight or four candidates would be elected on the basis of highest votes obtained.

It has also been finalised that the chairman or president at different tiers would be bound to nominate other office-bearers from the elected persons.

The PTI union council elections will be held in the second phase. PTI Chairman Imran Khan had himself clarified in Lahore earlier this month that elections would not be held in the union councils where party candidates had been elected in the recent local government elections. He said women wing election would also be held in the same manner.

Though Mr Khan had stated that the intra-party election would give an opportunity to the youth and new leadership to emerge, the youth in Punjab is disturbed as no elections for the Insaf Youth Wing had been announced.

“The PTI is largely a youth party but regretfully no elections have yet been announced for the youth wing,” a youth wing leader told Dawn.

A committee member said: “Rules for all party wings, including youth wing, are being framed and they will be ready in a couple of weeks”.

Meanwhile, Chaudhry Sarwar, who has announced his candidature by himself, has stepped up his election campaign and spent a busy day at his office in Johar Town.

At a “Workers Meeting Day” on Sunday, Chaudhry Sarwar claimed to have met some 200 delegations of workers from different Lahore union councils. He said party workers were with him.

At the workers meeting day, Mr Sarwar and workers offered prayers for the four army men, including a captain, who were martyred in Waziristan. They also passed a resolution lauding the army for its war against terrorism.

Published in Dawn, February 29th, 2016