No info about sensitive institution’s meddling in Senate polls: Bilawal

LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has warned that public confidence in the ballot box is diminishing fast, right from the union council level to Senate elections, adding all political parties should take responsibility for the horse-trading.

The chairman Senate should voluntarily resign on moral grounds since the open rigging in Senate chairman polls was evident to the whole world as 50 votes turned out from the 64 Senators who moved the motion, he said while addressing the media here on Saturday. To a question, Bilawal said he had no information about the intervention of a sensitive institution in Senate polls. He said some undemocratic elements in the past had meddled in political matters and expressed the hope the national institution would keep itself away from politics. Bilawal said there was no progress on the alleged video tape of the presiding officer where he was heard saying that 54 votes were polled in favour of the motion.

He said combined opposition parties had sensed defeat beforehand, alleging that Jahangir Tareen and the Punjab governor had not only threatened but offered incentives to the PPP senators indirectly, who informed him about that latter. He said elections reforms were indispensable for the future of democracy. He said if under the present circumstances, he demanded re-elections, the powers which formed a selected government in the last elections would again make a selection in the same fashion.

He demanded immediate reforms in election laws, especially the secret ballot in the indirect elections which Prime Minister Imran Khan had also been terming the root cause of horse trading in the past. He said the PPP would bring amendment to end the secret ballot, expressing hopes that the government would support it. To a question, Bilawal said negative propaganda against the PPP senators is baseless, adding all party senators followed party discipline and he had complete confidence in them. He said the opposition parties should refrain from leveling baseless allegations and bickering among them, instead they should investigate the causes of defeat.

To a question about extension to the army chief, Bilawal said the PPP government gave extension to the then army chief due to operation in Swat, adding the present government should decide after reviewing the circumstances. He warned some elements are dreaming of ending the Sindh government since 2007, asking them to dislodge the Sindh government if they dared. He said he would return within 90 days with even more votes and form the government again. He said the Ghotki by-elections are a glaring example. He said the PPP Executive Council meeting of the previous day had decided to re-launch a mass contact campaign and he would soon visit the whole country including Punjab.