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PPP’s Senator Taj Haider on Monday wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja expressing concern over the “prevailing trend” in Punjab where party candidates being denied the ‘arrow’ symbol.
On Sunday, the senator had written to the commission over PPP candidates Muhammad Fayyaz Bhatti and Mujahid Islam — contesting from PP-163 (Lahore) and PP-119 (Toba Tek Singh I) — not being allotted the ‘arrow’ symbol and being pushed in the independents category.
The issue of incorrect election symbols for PPP candidates comes as the party’s election campaign, led by party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, has been in full swing in Punjab.
On several occasions, Bilawal has complained about the alleged historical discrimination against his party in the province. In a recent interaction with the media, he said the PPP could perform well in Punjab this time if provided a level playing field in the province.
In two separate letters today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, Senator Haider, who is in charge of the party’s central election cell, urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to note the failure to issue the party symbol to candidates contesting from PP-20 (Chakwal) and PP-21 (Chakwal II).
He said that both the party candidates, Chaudhary Naushad Khan and Raja Amjad Noor, had been denied the party symbol and were listed an independent candidates despite having party tickets. The letters requested CEC Raja to direct the returning officers (ROs) to issue the ‘arrow’ symbol to both candidates.
A separate letter by Haider specifically brought the CEC’s attention to the denial of the party symbol to candidates. He cited Section 66 of the Election Act, 2017, saying that it was the “only and the final requirement for seeking allotment of a prescribed symbol”.
Emphasising that the whole system of constitutional democracy was built around the structure of political parties, the senator said: “We have repeatedly experienced that the presence of independents in an elected house does open an unfortunate window for horse trading and exerting pressures on elected independents.”
He said independents were often elected by taking advantage of “parochial, racial, tribal, sectarian, and provincial prejudices” adding that under Article 33 of the Constitution, it was the state’s duty to discourage such and similar prejudices.
He said that pushing candidates affiliated with a party into the category of independents was contrary to the provisions of Article 33 of the Constitution.
“We request issuance of your general instructions to all ROs and district returning officers (DROs) to allot prescribed symbols to all candidates who have at the time of seeking a prescribed symbol submitted a certificate from their party regarding their affiliation to that party,” the letter concluded.
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