Senate elections: Govt and opposition in last ditch efforts to garner support

ISLAMABAD: As the campaign for the Senate elections in the country is ending with effect from the midnight today (Monday), the government and the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM) have mounted last ditch efforts to gain maximum support and both are confident about their chances of victory.

Both the sides on Sunday held some announced and secret meetings as part of the election campaign. The government has also devised a strategy for the Senate polls and Prime Minister Imran Khan has also come into the field to support the PTI candidates. He will hold meetings with lawmakers of the ruling party at the parliament today (Monday) to make sure that no one deviates from the party line while voting. The sources said the premier is expected to listen to the grievances of the party lawmakers and make assurance about resolving their problems.

The PDM has tasked Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to garner support for joint candidate Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, while the government has tasked Pervaiz Khattak to ensure the PTI candidates’ victory from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Asad Umar will see the affairs of Balochistan in this regard. The parties contesting the Senate polls are making hard efforts for giving surprises in Islamabad, KP and Sindh.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has said that the campaign for Senate elections will come to an end with effect from the midnight falling between today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday). The ECP has asked all the political parties and the contesting candidates to follow the provisions of law and exercise self-restraint so that the poll is held in an orderly and peaceful manner on the March 03.

As many as 52 Senators are going to retire on March 11 and they would be replaced by new Senators. The PTI has sprung into action due to the possibility of seat adjustments between PPP and MQM-P, due to which the allied parties were invited to a luncheon on Sunday in honour of PTI chief organiser Saifullah Niazi.

According to Geo News, the luncheon was attended by Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) President Sadruddin Shah Rashdi, Hasnain Mirza, Shahryar Mehr, and others from the alliance. However, no member from the MQM-P showed up, it emerged.

Talking to the media after lunch, the PTI leader Maulvi Mahmood said that he had invited the parties for lunch in honour of the candidates standing for Senate elections. He said despite an invitation, the MQM-P delegation could not come due to a busy schedule.

On the other hand, the MQM-P spokesperson said that the party's members could not attend the PTI luncheon due to a prior organisational engagement. The spokesperson said that all the parties are engaged in preparations for the upcoming polls with their own respective approaches and that MQM is in constant touch with the PTI and GDA leadership regarding the Senate elections.

Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said the PTI gives its members right to differ. He said the PTI is not like PML-N where members are expelled for differing from Mian Sahib. He said the members about whom it was said that they won’t vote for government have assured in the meeting that they would definitely vote for the PTI candidates.

The PTI leader Ali Zaidi said the opposition is scared of open ballot as it wants continuation of Changa Manga politics. The MQM leaders have thus far expressed the view that a vote for Yusuf Raza Gilani would tantamount to a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan and so they are of the opinion that "unity cannot be sacrificed for two Senate seats".

Earlier, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday held a meeting and vowed for the success of the PDM candidates in the Senate elections. A delegation of the PPP led by Bilawal called on Maulana Fazlur Rehman at his residence in Islamabad. Former prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Farhatullah Babar accompanied Bilawal.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Fazlur Rehman said the PDM leadership meetings would be held immediately after the Senate elections and a new strategy would be worked out and clarified.

"The PDM is the only voice of the people across the country and getting rid of such rulers (incumbent government) will be a service to the people of Pakistan," the JUI-F chief said. Clarifying that the PDM was just the name of the movement and not an electoral alliance, he said the opposition parties were trying not to cut each other's votes in the election from a moral perspective.

"They thought that the PDM parties would damage each other's votes themselves, but the PDM is united in all four provinces as well as the centre and is contesting the Senate elections. "God willing, successful results will come out of the Senate elections," he said, noting that there was "an atmosphere of hopelessness in the ranks of the PTI government."

Fazlur Rehman said that with regard to the rampant inflation and security situation of Pakistan, the PDM was the "only voice of the people." Referring to a firing incident earlier this week, he noted that "three of our youth were martyred in Islamabad" adding that similar incidents were happening in other areas as well.

"With regard to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the strategy for the Senate elections has been decided," he said. Bilawal said the PDM had challenged the PTI regime "on every front" and wished to send a message through the upcoming Senate elections that "even the government's lawmakers are not with the government".

"We will be successful in our mission," he stressed. "We have made preparation for both the open ballot and secret ballot method" in the Senate elections, he said, observing that the democratic lawmakers would support the PDM.

Bilawal vowed to go to the PTI government's home base and challenge it there. "We will also give a tough time to the government in KP," he added. "The formula that has been worked out for Pakhtunkhwa will unite and challenge the government. On the one hand, there's Yusuf Raza Gilani and, on the other, is PTIMF candidate," he explained, referring to Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

"The PML-N seats won from Punjab will benefit us in electing the Senate chairperson and these votes will be very important," he added. The PPP chief also mentioned that the anti-government coalition had held talks with the PTI's ally, the Karachi-based MQM-P, and "hopefully they will join the voice of the opposition".

"The MQM-P was elected from Karachi but the federal government left Karachi orphaned. We have talked to the MQM-P, members of the PTI government, and other allies of the regime. We hope that the Supreme Court will rule in accordance with the Constitution and the law," Bilawal added.

Meanwhile, Bilawal invited Hamza Shahbaz on a dinner to discuss political situation, especially the upcoming Senate elections. The PML-N Vice President and Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz received a telephone call from Bilawal on Sunday, said PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar. He said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari congratulated Hamza Shahbaz Sharif on his release.

The two leaders discussed issues of mutual interest. Meanwhile, former president Asif Ali Zardari reached Islamabad to consult the party leaders over the elections of Upper House and finalise strategy for the polls.

Zardari was expected to hold a meeting with Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the leadership of the opposition alliance. Meanwhile, the PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has claimed that Yusuf Raza Gilani will win the contest with a heavy margin.

Talking to media along with Ahsan Iqbal at Danyal Aziz’s dera in Narowal, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi maintained that the Senate elections are just an election and not a no-confidence motion. He said he so far saw no role of the establishment in the Senate elections.