PML-Q to boycott LG polls in Sindh

Karachi
The Sindh chapter of Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) announced on Monday to boycott the upcoming local government election, scheduled for December 3, said provincial president Haleem Adil Shaikh.
At the same time, he demanded that the election be held under the supervision of Pakistan Army and its personnel be deployed both in and outside polling stations.
When asked by The News whether PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was taken into confidence before taking this decision, Shaikh said the central command of the party had given a free hand to the Sindh chapter to decide whether it wanted to participate in the local government election or not.
“The decision was only taken by the Sindh chapter for two reasons,” said Shaikh. “First, we don’t trust the present Election Commission of Pakistan and any election held by it will be a farce. Second, pre-poll rigging had already begun by the present provincial government led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and many candidates will be elected unopposed, meaning that the polls will not be transparent.”
He alleged that the bureaucrats and returning officers affiliated with the PPP were ready to decide the election in its favour. Shaikh also expressed the apprehension that the local government poll may be delayed at the last moment at the behest of PPP because it was worried about the outcome and wanted a handpicked administrator to run the municipal affairs.
He said the PPP was opposed to the transfer of power at the grass roots level and only wanted feudal lords to rule over the poor serfs. He said the conflicts between the feudal and serfs have never resolved during the PPP tenure.
When asked if the party’s Sindh chapter was secretly supporting or working with any other political force in the province, Shaikh categorically denied the notion but added, “We will not completely cut ourselves off from the electoral process. We have asked our followers to vote for a candidate if they feel he or she is worth supporting and will resolve their issues.”
However, at the same time, Shaikh said the party would be monitoring the polling process and would raise objections if it found any flaws in the electoral process. He said the election process should be transparent and officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan should be neutral and devoid of any affiliation with any political party.
He said elections were not held in its true essence under a biased system which had forced the party to stay away from the process.