ISLAMABAD: After failure to meet three deadlines set earlier for the party’s reorganisation, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has decided that intra-party elections from the unit to the central level should be completed by January 15, 2011.
In a PML-N central organising committee meeting, it also decided that intra-party elections at the local as well as provincial and central levels should be completed before January 15 next year. PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had dissolved the party’s structural organisations in September 2009 announcing that intra-party polls would be held in March 2010.
Later, the party announced that the elections would be held until August 14, however, in August, the elections were delayed until September 30 but the deadline was again not met due to uncertain political conditions in the country as well as the recent flooding. A source said it was decided in the meeting that the party’s election at local and provincial levels must be held before January 2011.
“The elections for the central slots of party offices could be delayed for a week or two and be held in January 2011,” said the source. “The party chief also asked the party’s top brass to launch a more aggressive party membership campaign,” the source said, adding that PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal had given a comprehensive presentation on the membership campaign to the leadership.
A source in the PML-N said it was expected that Nawaz would be the future president of the party while Shahbaz Sharif might be appointed Punjab president. “The PML-N chief was informed that party’s organising committees at the tehsil and unit levels were still to be formed. Once these committees are formed, the election process will start,” the source said.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also chaired a meeting of nine divisional organising committees’ heads in Lahore on Saturday to finalise the party reorganisation plan. PML-N MNA Baleeghur Rehman, also the Bahawalpur divisional coordinator said Shahbaz had asked all coordinators to bring synchronisation in the reorganisation process.
“The names of the district coordinators were also finalised in the meeting,” he said. Talking to Pakistan Today, a PML-N MNA said it was it was difficult that the fourth deadline be met as the formulation of tehsil and unit level organising committees in Sindh and Balochistan were yet to be completed.
