- Looking for fall guys in case of bad performance
There seems to be no institution in the country, with the exception of the army and judiciary, that the PTI is not dissatisfied with. Party spokesman Fawad Chaudhary has expressed reservations over caretaker government’s slow progress on electoral process. He has specifically criticised its failure to change the district administrations in Punjab and Sindh while justifying the retention of the status quo in KP. He says he wrote a letter to ECP to record his objections on the caretakers performance but the ECP failed to pay heed to his note.
The PTI chief believes that while all politicians need to follow laws he deserves to be given exemption. The election schedule announced by the ECP last month requires the submission of the lists of candidates on reserved seats for women from June 4 to June 8. Under pressure from party workers who objected to the exclusion of many deserving women candidates, Imran Khan wants to send a new list to the ECP. The Election Commission has however refused to entertain it as this would violate the clearly spelt out regulations.
Objections were raised against Imran Khan’s eligibility in some of the constituencies from where he is contesting the elections for the National Assembly. He was directed by the Returning Officer in NA-131 Lahore to appear in person to clarify his position, maintaining that those claiming to bring change in the country should respect the law themselves. It remains be seen how Khan responds to the directive today.
Imran Khan has accused Nadra chief of sharing sensitive data with unauthorised persons to weaken the PTI’s position in elections. Nadra has denied the charge maintaining that it helps only the ECP in line with constitutional requirements.
There is a perception that the PTI is unhappy over its failure to create a public wave in its support. Instead of reviewing its electoral strategy its leadership is now looking for fake explanations in case its performance in the elections turns out to be less than expected. In that case the caretaker set up, ECP, ROs and NADRA are likely to be accused of being hand in glove with PTI opponents.
