Govt, PTI agree on same-day elections but fail to decide date

ISLAMABAD: The third round of negotiations between the ruling alliance and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ended on Tuesday night without a major breakthrough on the date for the same-day election.

Despite reaching a consensus on the same-day election across the country under a caretaker government, the meeting failed to determine the date of elections and dissolution of assemblies.

The third round of the talks was held at the Committee Room of the Parliament House. The government team comprised former prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, Minister for Commerce Naveed Qamar, Minister for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema, Sanaullah Baloch from the BNP (Mengal) and Kishwar Zahra from the MQM, while Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Senator Ali Zafar and Fawad Chaudhry formed the PTI delegation.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced that both the sides agreed that elections would be held on the same day under a caretaker government but they could not determine the date.

PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi also said though both sides agreed on the same-day election yet failed to decide the date.

But, at the same time, Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced that the PTI would approach the Supreme Court and submit a written report of negotiations to implement the court’s decision on May 14 polls in Punjab.

However, at the conclusion of the third round of talks, they did not give any fresh dates for further negotiations.

Talking to the media, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that in the third round of talks, all the issues were discussed in detail in a positive manner, and the overall result was positive.

He said that there was an agreement that all the elections should be held on the same day under a caretaker setup. “The purpose of the elections at the same time is that no questions be raised on the fairness and transparency of them.”

Dar said that an important matter is the determination of the date on which the elections should be held.

“We have to go and talk to the leadership again; we also have to consult with our coalition parties and hope for positive progress in the coming days, as I think the agreement on elections and formation of a caretaker setup is great progress, which is in accordance with the Constitution and Elections Act 2017,” he said.

The finance minister said that one of the important things is the determination of the date of the elections. There are many things in front of us -- the country needs a budget, trade policy and an ongoing review of the IMF, so the date for these things is a bit complicated.

“There is a process, we have shown as much flexibility as we can; they are also showing it, and we hope that both parties will proceed in the same way with same sincerity,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, former prime minister and Senator Yusuf Raza Gilani said that during the negotiations, it was also agreed that whichever party wins the elections will accept the results, so that there is no chaos in the country.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while talking to the media, said: “We thought that we had shown enough flexibility to reach a national consensus. We accepted the proposal of one day, and the role of the caretaking government setup, but neither side reached a consensus on the date of general elections. We and the PDM could not agree on the dates of dissolution of assemblies and elections.” He said on the 19th, the Supreme Court had suggested that if the political parties can sit down and find a way out through negotiation, it will not have any objection.

He said that keeping this thought in mind, the PTI also expressed its willingness, and Imran Khan had formed a three-member committee for negotiations.

Qureshi said that we had three meetings, the first meeting was held on the 27th, and the second meeting was held on the 28th of April, and we tried to move towards a consensus. He said that the things we agreed on were that the political parties should agree on something that is in the interest of the country and the people and is consistent with the Constitution. He said that the second thing that was agreed upon was that the negotiation process should not be used as a delaying tactic and that efforts should be made to carry forward the decision of the Supreme Court on elections.

Qureshi said: “We also decided that if we agree on something, we have to make a mechanism for its implementation to make sure we can move forward.”

He said that both sides came to the conclusion that the National Assembly, Sindh Assembly and Balochistan Assembly should be dissolved on or before May 14 because there was a logic behind it that elections should be held within 60 days, and for this 60-day election, constitutional protection has to be given, for which the PTI is ready to go to the National Assembly and they are ready to amend it once but not to make it a tradition.”

He said: “To get out of the situation we are stuck in, we put forth this proposal there, we want the agreement between us to be in writing, and we should submit it to the Supreme Court for its approval as it can ensure its implementation.”

He said the PTI also demanded that the elections should be free, fair, and transparent. In the meantime, according to sources, the government and PTI have prepared their own written proposals and shared them with each other.

Sources said the PTI handed over the draft of eight-point proposals to the government alliance. The PTI has proposed elections between Eidul Adha and Muharram and suggested that they may be held in the second or third week of August.

Sources said the PTI has decided to send the draft of its proposals to the Supreme Court. They said during the negotiations, both sides held detailed consultations with their leaders.

Earlier, talking to the media after the dinner hosted by him for the negotiating teams of the government and PTI, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani was optimistic about the negotiation process. “I hope the negotiations will be successful,” he said. To a question, he responded that he was acting as a facilitator.