PML-N, PML-Q not in presidential race from Sindh

Karachi : Two major political parties, the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q), are not in the race for the presidential elections in Sindh. Neither party filed nomination papers for presidential candidates in Sindh. Meanwhile, the ruling coalition, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and the Awami National Party (ANP), filed nine nomination papers on Tuesday for their joint presidential candidate, PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) Acting Chief Justice, who is also the Returning Officer for these elections, Justice Azizullah Memon, received the nomination papers for Zardari and eight other independent candidates.

The election commission had issued 21 nomination forms from Sindh but no nomination papers were filed for the PML-N candidate, Justice (Retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqi, and the PML-Q candidate, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed. The PML-Q has nine MPAs in the Sindh Assembly and PML-N has no representation in the House, while ANP leader Shahi Syed said that the PML-N had no proposers or seconders for the nomination paper.

The ruling coalition held a joint meeting in the Sindh Assembly building before filing nomination papers, and decided to file nine nomination papers for Zardari.

Officials said that the PPP filed four nominations, while the MQM filed one nomination. One nomination paper each was filed jointly by the PPP-MQM and the PPP-ANP, while one each was filed by the women and minority members.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, his cabinet ministers, including ministers from the MQM and the ANP, were present in the court room when Zardari’s nomination papers were filed. PML-Q MPAs Dr Shajila Leghari, Ghalib Domki and Abid Sundarani was also present in the court room at the time.

Shah told journalists that Zardari was a suitable candidate for this office and he will get 100 percent votes from Sindh because no other candidate matched him. The chief minister said that the PPP still wants to bring all democratic forces together. He declared that the government did not believe in political victimisation, nor would it ‘force’ any votes because the PPP “wants to promote healthy democratic traditions in the country.”

MQM Minister Shoib Bukhari told journalists that Zardari is the candidate for the MQM as well, and MQM chief Altaf Hussain had been the first to nominate him.

Provincial ministers raised slogans of “Zinda hai BB” (BB lives) after filing Zardari’s nomination papers. A cordial and happy atmosphere was witnessed on the occasion and the coalition parties claimed the credit for proposing the PPP co-chairman as a presidential candidate.

Source : Daily News