Delay of 8-10 days in general elections will make no difference: Zardari

PPP co-chairperson and former president Asif Ali Zardari on Monday said that a delay of “eight to 10 days” in the general elections would make no difference, stressing that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had the constitutional authority to hold the polls earlier or later than its currently scheduled date of February 8. While the ECP, in its Nov 29 statement, had rejected what it said were “baseless and misleading” reports about a delay in the upcoming general elections, remarks in the favour of a delay have surfaced from representatives of all major political parties except the PTI. On October 21, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl Sindh General Secretary Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro had said that the ECP should reconsider holding elections in peak winter months. On Sunday, PML-N Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Amir Muqam also suggested that elections should be delayed by “two to four weeks” due to the prevalent security threat and the weather conditions of the tribal belt. Speaking at private TV programe, Zardari clarified his stance on the subject, making it clear that the PPP would not be opposed to the idea of a small delay. “Even if the polls are delayed — but by eight to 10 days but not more than that — there will be no difference,” he said. “The elections have to take place — be it tomorrow or the day after. They have to happen.” He said that all the powers regarding the elections were with the ECP, saying that the electoral watchdog could bring forward or delay the election date. “See there is the weather [situation] too. Firstly, elections were not held in Fata before. Seats from that region used to come through the Fata and Pata system. Now the weather there is not good and a war is also taking place,” he said. Meanwhile, Zardari accused former prime minister and PTI supremo Imran Khan of registering illegal Afghans living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as citizens of Pakistan by issuing them ID cards. “He (Imran) has got votes of Afghans registered by making their ID cards in KP,” he said. “That’s why he talks about the Afghans so much. He has made fake lists in KP where Afghans have been declared as Pakistan citizens and their names are in the voters’ list.” The PPPP president doubted the PTI’s ability at a grassroot level of handling hundreds of polling stations in one constituency.