President barred from canvassing in Senate polls

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has barred President Dr Arif Alvi and the provincial governors from taking part in the campaign for the upcoming Senate polls.

“The President and Governors of the Provinces shall not take part in election campaign relating to election to the Senate in any manner whatsoever and shall not use their respective offices as well as houses in connection therewith,” reads a code of conduct for the senate polls released by the ECP.

Meanwhile, the Chaudhrys of Gujrat (Shujaat Hussain and Pervez Elahi) have brokered a major deal between the government and the opposition parties by paving the way for Senate elections in Punjab without even bothering the member of the provincial assembly (MPAS) to cast their votes.

The Supreme Court’s opinion will apparently have no consequences for Punjab’s Senate race as it has already taken its final shape because of the Chaudhrys, who used their experience and contacts with cross party lines to ensure that every party got its due share in the Senate polls from the largest province of the country.

“It was a local operation with Elahi playing a pivotal role. Everyone got what they wanted, so it was a smooth win-win situation for all parties,” Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said. “It shows political pragmatism can trump political polarisation in the most difficult of times.”

Expressing that it was a good sign that political parties showed maturity for common interests, Sayed gave full credit to the Chuadhrys. “Full marks to Shujaat Hussain and Pervez Elahi for puting their prestige and political capital to make Punjab stand out as a test case for a clean Senate election.”

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz was of the view that geting seats in Senate as per the parties’ proportional strength in provincial assemblies was the right thing to happen, saying that the debate over use of money to become a senator ended in Punjab because the candidates were elected unopposed. “It’s good that people were elected unopposed and as per parties’ representation from Punjab; the same should happen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as well,” the information minister said, adding that candidates in KP were in favour of ending the role of millionaires and billionaires in Senate elections.

Shibli said the Chaudhrys are political people and know how to achieve objectives by making reasonable arrangements.

The Chaudhrys have similar influence in Punjab that Defence Minister Pervaiz Khatak has in KP.