ISLAMABAD: The rising clamour for an early general election has forced the People’s Party to open discussions with all political parties to thrash out a consensus date soon after the Senate polls.

Senior officials, who have been attending party meetings over the past few days, said the PPP was ready for talks with major parties to hammer out an understanding on early elections.

A senior PPP leader, who is an MNA, said the party was working on a possible trade-off among all parties to bring them to an agreed formula which could lead to the general election.

Summing up priorities of major political parties, he said the PML-N and Jamaat-i-Islami were looking for early elections as soon as possible.

The JI had boycotted the last general election and will also lose its three remaining senators in March this year.

On the other hand, the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, which has emerged as a new political force after holding successful back-to-back public meetings and courting a number of bankable candidates, also wants early elections but not before September or October, the MNA said.

The Awami National Party, which rules Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the PML-Q, a coalition partner at the centre, want the PPP-led government to complete its five-year constitutional term, which ends in March next year.

About the MQM’s choice, the PPP leader said it would go with the tide. The party had no quarrel with early or late elections; it was only concerned about its grip in Karachi, he added.

When asked about the PPP’s preference, he said if everything went as per plan, the elections would be held in September or October, but for that all political parties would have to reach a consensus.

“Yes, we know that making all political parties agree on a consensus date will be a difficult task. But in this way we will be able to absolve ourselves of the blame that the ruling party doesn’t want early elections,” the PPP leader said.

Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said: “First we will ask our coalition partners and after reaching an agreement we will approach the parties sitting on the other side of the fence.”

The PPP and its coalition partners have agreed to hold Senate elections in mid-February. Under the Constitution, Senate elections can be held between Feb 11 and March 11 and the newly-elected senators can take oath on March 12.

Article 224 (5) of the Constitution says: “When a seat in the Senate has become vacant, an election to fill the seat shall be held within 30 days from the occurrence of the vacancy.”

Since half of the senators will stand retired on March 12, the election can be held on their seats within 30 days prior to the vacation of their seats.

Engineer Khurram Dastagir, deputy information general secretary of the PML-N, reiterated his party leadership’s stance that an early election was the only solution to problems of the current crisis.

A member of PTI’s central executive committee, Umar Cheema, told Dawn that his party was in favour of early elections, but only after correction in voters’ list.

He said the Election Commission had admitted that it had detected 35 million bogus votes in the list on which the last elections were held. “The PTI not only wants correction in the list but also entry of new voters before the next elections,” Mr Cheema said.

Asked about the party’s demand for removal of President Asif Ali Zardari from the scene because it believed that in his presence free and fair elections could not be held, he said it PTI would stick to its stand.

Moreover, he recalled, the Lahore High Court had ruled against the dual-office held by President Zardari. He also referred to recent elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, where even PPP’s coalition partners questioned the electoral process.

“This proves that his (Mr Zardari) presence at the highest position will affect the election process in the country,” he added.

Mr Cheema, who served as PTI’s central information secretary for some time, said the party contest the next elections with “full force”.