PPP appears to back out of voting for Shehbaz

LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) appears to be backing out of voting for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif in the elections for prime minister (PM). The Pakistan Alliance for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFE) formed between the two opposition parties seems to be over.

The alliance includes PML-N, PPP, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Awami National Party (ANP) and others.

Earlier, the parties had agreed that they would nominate joint candidates for the prime minister, speaker and deputy speaker. After meetings between the leadership, it was agreed that Shehbaz would be the candidate for premiership, Khursheed Shah for speaker and Maulana Asad-ur-Rehman (son of Fazl-ur-Rehman) of MMA for deputy speaker.

PPP spokesperson Sherry Rehman said that the party had expressed reservations about the PML (N) candidate but no official statement could be made until the matter was fully decided. PML-N Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb did not confirm or deny if the PPP had refused to vote for Shehbaz.