LAHORE:
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari believes that holding elections in Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan on a significantly different schedule from the rest of the country distorts the electoral results and deprives the two regions of real leadership, according to a well-informed source within the party.
A PPP leader, speaking to The Express PK Press Club on condition of anonymity, said that since election results in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir have always favored the ruling party in Islamabad, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is of the view that elections across the country should be held on the same date.
He added that the PPP chairman believes that if the elections were held simultaneously, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir would vote more freely, instead of aligning their preferences with those of the ruling party at the Centre.
He added that the president may also undertake preliminary efforts to explore aligning election dates nationwide.
PPP Information Secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan, responding to questions about the president’s alleged views, said he was not aware of any such internal discussion within the party; however, he acknowledged that this feeling does exist.
He said the party leadership opposed the federal government’s interference in the Gilgit-Baltistan elections, especially in view of the visits of the Prime Minister and federal ministers.
Commenting on the president’s reported position, he said he was unable to confirm or deny it at this stage.
He added that the party president is expected to visit Gilgit-Baltistan after Eid. He further said that the PPP was currently engaged in seat adjustment agreements with various political parties.
A senior party leader and former governor of Gilgit-Baltistan said he was also not aware of any such discussion within the party leadership; however, he recognized that alignment of elections was the need of the hour.
He said that whether it is PPP or PML-N in government, the ruling party enjoys an unfair advantage in elections, which he said undermines the integrity of the electoral process.
Those outside the government, he added, are at a significant disadvantage. Referring to the alliance agreements, he explained that the party has so far only agreed to a one-seat adjustment with the JUI-F in Darel.
PILDAT leader Ahmad Bilal Mehboob said he supports the ‘one nation, one election’ proposition, arguing that the problem is not limited to influence over Gilgit-Baltistan or Kashmir, but also concerns the disruptive nature of elections in general.
He said elections create administrative and political disruptions and it is better to hold them collectively at the same time. He added that he also supported the idea of holding even local elections on the same date as other elections.
It is pertinent to note that election results in Gilgit-Baltistan since the formation of the elected assembly in 2009 have largely followed a predictable pattern, in which the ruling party in Islamabad has generally become the ruling party in the region.
During the PPP’s tenure at the center, it formed the government in Britain, followed by the PML-N during its federal tenure, and later by the PTI when it was in power at the center. Similar trends were also observed in the Kashmir elections.
