PPP credits Presidency for free, fair elections

The Express Tribune

“It’s the first time in Pakistan’s parliamentary history that the Presidency didn’t become a hub of conspiracies during the elections,” the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) claimed on Tuesday crediting President Asif Ali Zardari’s democratic approach for free and fair elections. PPP Senator Dr Karim Khawaja told journalists in Islamabad that Asif Ali Zardari was the first president who remained neutral and did not issue even a single statement during the whole elections process. “In the past, presidents, barring a few, actively supported politicians of their choice in elections and formation of governments,” Khawaja said. Despite reservations, the PPP accepts the overall results for the continuation of democracy in the country, he added. “However, PPP candidates will approach election tribunals wherever they have election-related complaints.” He disclosed that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will reorganise the party in due course of time. Some leaders, including Aitzaz Ahsan, Yousaf Raza Gilani and Manzoor Wattoo, have offered their resignations from party’s positions on moral grounds and many more might follow suit, he said. The PPP has given sacrifices for democracy in the country and would continue to play a positive role in the future too. He said it was not the first time that the PPP fared badly in the elections. The party had faced similar situation in the 1990 and 1997 elections, and even then it had effectively played its role in parliamentary politics.