Pakistan elections only after electoral reforms, says Zardari

Elections in Pakistan will be held after the current coalition government implements electoral reforms and amends the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws, PPP co-chair Asif Ali Zardari said on Wednesday, Dawn reported.

“We have to change laws and improve them and then go to elections. Whether it takes three or four months, we have to work on implementation of policies and improving the electoral process,” Zardari said at a press conference in Karachi.

He said he had consulted PMLN leader Nawaz Sharif and “made him understand that as soon as our reforms and low-hanging fruit targets are complete [we can go to polls]”. The former president said the coalition government had “no issue” with voting rights and representation for overseas Pakistanis. He added that a number of seats could be specified for them after discussions. In response to a question about Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s interview in which he said the possibility of holding elections before November could not be ruled out, Zardari said the PML-N leader had his own thoughts and was bound to listen to his party’s directives.

“The PML-N decided with me that until electoral reforms were brought, there would be no [talk] about the new army chief’s appointment.” Once the electoral reformshadbeenintroducedandthe economic situation had improved and the parliament believed it was time to go for elections, polls could then be held, he said. — agencies

We have to change laws and improve them and then go to elections. Asif Ali Zardari

PPP co-chair