KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which has been consistently vocal against attempts to delay the polls beyond the January timeline set by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), on Sunday took issue with the demand — coming from the PML-N and JUI-F — to postpone the elections even further.

In a statement, PPP leader and former deputy NA speaker Faisal Karim Kundi said the ECP was bound by the Constitution and could not delay polls on the wishes of two political parties.

He expressed concern that postponing elections could be construed as an attempt to ‘steal the election’ and expressed disappointment over the ECP’s delay in announcing a final election date.

“The ECP is legally bound and is not operating according to the orders of two personalities, hence elections cannot be delayed,” he said.

“It is about time we put an end to the ‘selection’ process, and head towards elections,” he added.

Kundi says ECP not supposed to operate on ‘orders of two figures’, dubs Nawaz’s show as ‘coronation ceremony’

Moreover, the PPP has openly criticised the PML-N for what they perceive to be a shift in their stance on elections. This change was observed as party supremo Nawaz Sharif, upon his much-anticipated return to the country after a four-year exile, refrained from addressing the question of upcoming general elections in his speech at Minar-i-Pakistan.

‘Looked like a coronation’

Mr Kundi pointed out the PML-N had previously advocated in favour of holding general elections before their leader’s return. He expressed disappointment in the three-time former prime minister for avoiding any discussion about the upcoming polls, which, as per the ECP, are scheduled to occur at the end of January 2024.

Nawaz Sharif “did not talk about elections, which represents that he is not confident if people would vote for him,” Mr Kundi separately told Geo News.

“As a leader of a prominent political party, he should have talked about elections; instead, he presented his CV and made his address look like a victory speech,” he added.

Despite discussing multiple challenges currently faced by Pakistan and pledging to address them when in power, the 73-year-old leader did not touch upon his party’s intentions or strategies regarding participation in the forthcoming elections.

Taking a jibe at Mr Nawaz’s address, Mr Kundi compared the gathering to a ‘coronation ceremony’.

He lamented that the caretaker administration in Punjab, whose primary responsibility is to facilitate a free and equitable execution of the general elections, had played a role in coordinating the welcome rally for the PML-N leader.

“The votes cannot be stolen this time. There is no way anyone can attempt any sort of cheating in the electoral process since the majority of the voters are young people. They won’t let you deprive them of their right,” he said.

‘Homework done’

Speaking of whether any sort of ‘selection’ is involved in election this year, Mr Kundi told Geo News that “pulling a crowd for public gathering is different from filling ballot boxes”.

“If you have decided to bring a particular person, then just announce it, why are we spending a significant amount of money on election amidst economic crisis,” he said.

He also insisted that PPP does not believe in keeping any political party out of the elections.

“We never want to exclude a political party from an election. However, the PTI was included in May 9 mayhem. Its decision would be taken by the courts and the ECP,” he said in response to a question of whether or not PTI should be banned from elections.

“We’ve done our homework. We’ll see you in elections,” Mr Kundi told his party’s rivals.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2023