KARACHI -UNS:PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday demanded elections “as soon as possible” and within the constitutional limit of 90 days.
The ECP has ruled out elections this year, while the 90-day limit for holding polls following the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA), as mandated under Article 224 of the Constitution, ends on November 9.
It reasons its decision to push elections beyond November 9 on the basis of the notification of results of the new digital 2023 census and Section 17(2) of the Elections Act, which states: “The commission shall delimit constituencies after every census is officially published.”
Speaking to the media in Karachi, the former foreign minister said that the people of the country were facing three major issues at the moment — inflation, unemployment and poverty.
“The PPP’s stance is that we don’t have a political enemy or a political opponent. Our fight is against poverty, unemployment and inflation,” he said. Bilawal said that the PPP had always helped the people of the country and given aid to the impoverished.
“Through its performance, the PPP has always proven that it does people-friendly politics and governance. And that is why the PPP still says that elections should be held as soon as possible, according to the Constitution and within 90 days so that we can win the polls and serve the people of the country and take them out of these difficult economic times.”
During his media talk, the PPP chairman was also asked about the recent statement by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who headed the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), wherein he claimed that general elections would have been held by now if the PPP had not gone back on its words.
Talking to journalists in Lahore, the JUI-F chief had said that all component parties of the PDM had agreed to hold elections early last year but the PPP went back on its promise and then all parties decided to bring the no-confidence motion against the then-prime minister Imran Khan.
In his response, Bilawal said that the maulana was a senior politician, adding that he did not wish to go into much detail about the statement made by the PDM chief.
“But I will tell you this: PPP was ready for elections before, was ready for elections on May 14 and was ready for elections in 60 days and is ready for elections in 90 days according to the Constitution,” he said.
The PPP chairman also said that there was a difference in between how the PPP, the PDM and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) interpreted the Constitution.
