International   

Hectic parleys ahead of presidential election

ISLAMABAD: Political activity gathered pace once again as nominations of three main candidates in the presidential election passed the Election Commissioner’s scrutiny on Thursday.

The nominations of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League candidate Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, and Pakistan Muslim League (Q) candidate Mushahid Hussain Sayed were among five nominations accepted by the Election Commissioner out of a total of 34 that were filed earlier this week.

But nothing is final yet about who is in the race and who is out until the date of withdrawal of nominations on Saturday. The most watched party at the moment is the PML (Q), with analysts predicting a pull-out by Mr. Sayed, although which candidate the party may then back is still an open question.

The PML (Q) secretary-general said “all parties are in touch with us,” but ruled out that he was about to withdraw. “Inshallah, we will give a full fight,” he told journalists after his nomination papers were accepted.

Mr. Sayed said he would travel to all four Provinces to canvass support in the Electoral College, which comprises members of the two houses of Parliament — the National Assembly and Senate — and the four provincial Assemblies. Both the PPP, mainly through its Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, and the PML (N) are ardently wooing the PML (Q). If it bandwagons with the PPP in the contest it would also spell bad news for the PML (N)-led government in Punjab, where the party is now dependent on the PPP for a majority. PPP sources said on Wednesday it would be advantageous to the party even if Mr. Sayed remained in the race as it would reduce the numbers burden on the PPP in the election. In a contest with more than two candidates, the candidate with the largest number of votes wins.

In a two-way contest, the winner must poll a simple majority in the Electoral College. In a sign of the hectic lobbying going on between various parties, Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, a senior leader of the PML (N), confirmed that Mr. Siddiqui had called on PML (Q) leader Shujat Hussain to canvass the party’s backing.

Significantly, Mr. Siddiqui also spoke to the London-based leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain, to ask for his party’s support. The MQM has thrown its weight behind Mr. Zardari’s candidature, but Mr. Siddiqui, a former Chief Justice, is a prominent and respected public figure in Pakistan’s Urdu-speaking community, which the MQM claims to represent. Analysts believe this has the potential of creating a delicate situation for the party. PML (N) chief Nawaz Sharif and Mr. Zardari also spoke on the telephone, their first direct contact after the break-up of the coalition on Monday. Media reports of the meeting said the PPP leader asked Mr. Sharif to rejoin the coalition, pull Mr. Siddiqui out of the presidential race, and instead back his bid.

The PML (N)’s Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan told journalists that would be possible only if the judges dismissed by the former President, Pervez Musharraf, were restored in accordance with the Murree Declaration, and if the 17th amendment, passed by the previous Parliament to empower the Musharraf presidency, was repealed.

Mr. Khan, who met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday, said it was to ask him to accept the resignations of the PML (N) Ministers from the Cabinet, and to discuss seating in Parliament now that the party would sit on the opposition benches.

Mr. Khan also made the mysterious announcement that there would be an “important” political development within the next 24 to 48 hours. The remark triggered widespread rumours that Mr. Zardari was perhaps contemplating standing down from the race.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Support for Russia at SCO Summit
Moscow eyes naval build up in West Asia
Hectic parleys ahead of presidential election
Zardari’s assets released
Khaleda Zia may be released soon
CPN (UML) Ministers to be sworn in today
Indian-origin jeweller shot dead in South Africa

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu