PPP announces boycott of presidential election

E-Paper | March 08, 2026

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Friday announced its decision to boycott the upcoming presidential election, DawnNews reported.

PPP's former Law Minister of Sindh, Ayaz Soomro, informed the Chief Election Commissioner in writing about the party's decision to boycott the presidential election.

Addressing a press conference in the federal capital city PPP's presidential candidate and senior leader Senator Raza Rabbani said that his party was left with no other option but to boycott the poll.

Rabbani thanked other opposition partners for their support and said their favours could never be repaid.

The Awami National Party (ANP) and the Balochistan National Party - Awami (BNP-A) also announced a boycott of the presidential poll.

Senator Haji Adeel, belonging to the Awami National Party, said that his party had already announced that it would support any decision taken by the PPP.

He further said that the court had taken a 'one-sided decision' which was 'unjust.'

DawnNews reported sources as saying that the Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid (PML-Q) had also decided to boycott the election for president.

The main opposition party's decision came as it said that enough time was not given to campaign for the presidential election.

The Election Commission of Pakistan had originally announced Aug 6 as the date for the presidential poll. The ruling Pakistan Muslim Legue - Nawaz (PML-N) had then written to the election commission requesting to delay the polls as the announced presidential elections were falling in the last ten days of Ramzaan, when most of the lawmakers were to be busy performing Umrah or sitting in Aitekaf.

The ECP rejected the government's request following which the PML-N filed a request in the Supreme Court of Pakistan seeking to hold the presidential elections before the last ten days of Ramazan.

The apex court later decided in favor of the PML-N and agreed to the July 30 sought by the government.

Pakistan's largely ceremonial president is not elected by popular vote, but by the lawmakers in the Senate, National Assembly and the assemblies of the four provinces.

The PPP had fielded Raza Rabbani as it presidential candidate whereas the PML-N is contesting Mamnoon Hussain.

The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf has nominated Justice (retd) Wajihuddin and its party chief Imran Khan announced on Friday evening that the PTI, after holding consultations, had decided not boycott the presidential election.

Chief of the Awami Muslim League (AML), Shiekh Rasheed Ahmed, said that his party would also boycott the polling for the post president.

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shuaib

Jul 26, 2013 01:02pm

As usual, PPPP is making this non issue, an issue. Please note character of 3 people sitting beside presidential candidate: 1st (R) Rabbani : Do not know how PKR 40million got into his account. 2nd (R) Rabbani : Took a U turn on swiss cases and lost all his earned credibility 3rd (R) Rabbani : Always posed like an intellectual but behaved like an uneducated. Until now, could not understand how his Party lost elections of 11 May!!!!!

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Fida Ahmed Advocate

Jul 26, 2013 01:05pm

So PPP and ANP have a reason now to criticize court. But can they honestly tell that they really were in a position to win the Presidential election or they have made the court's decision an excuse as they are clearly on the losing side in corruption cases?

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Qurratul Ain

Jul 26, 2013 01:26pm

It is a misfortune and sorrowful feeling that the apex court of Pakistan has become a party and doing the same as Dogar court allegedly did. Decision made by the PPP and supported by PML (Q), BNM( Awami), and Awami National Party is quite justified.

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Mirza Waseem Baig

Jul 26, 2013 01:30pm

I do not understand why you need time to canvass for an indirect election where the number of votes that could come a candidate's way are a known commodity, give or take a few independents that may be lured by "incentives". A clear case of sour grapes!

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salman

Jul 26, 2013 01:30pm

Supreme court is entertaining requests instead of dealing with matters according to law, this case should never have been taken up by them.

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Tausif

Jul 26, 2013 01:32pm

Actually, the story does not explain why the PPP and the opposition parties are boycotting and as result of whose decisions? The PML-N's or the SC's? Haji Adeel said this and Khurshid Shah said that. For a for time reader of this issue, the story does not offer any background...

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Raja

Jul 26, 2013 01:55pm

When they see they have no chance they boycott, do they really think anybody cares?

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Khiyal

Jul 26, 2013 01:58pm

Seems some sense is started prevailing in PPP. This is a sound political decision. If PML N cannot play by the rules, let them have a president of 2 and 1/2 provincial assemblies, 1/2 national assembly and 1/3 senate. With Rabbani and Aitzaz they have two very credible persons and what they say carries weight. The courts have been partisan. The judiciary needs to learn that independence is just one attribute it needs to be part of a good dispensation the country. The judiciary should be independent, competent, honest and impartial.

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Asif Sohail

Jul 26, 2013 02:08pm

This is the most logical decision which will definitely expose the bias of judiciary against the PPP and inclination towards PML (N).

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Irfan

Jul 26, 2013 02:09pm

Absolutely correct decision by PPP. SC is controlled by PML-N? Do I need to say more. Shame on the kangaroos of SC

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Afzal Mir

Jul 26, 2013 03:34pm

I hate to find myself in a position where I have to support PPP. PPP was not left with any other choice but to stay away from presidential election. Seems Nawaz Sharif will play Zardari for next five years.with the people of Pakistan..

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fida sayani

Jul 26, 2013 03:37pm

This can not be a country of Jinnah, rather I would call it a country of joker's. All the players are agitators and looks to me a followers of Gandhi.

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abu

Jul 26, 2013 03:56pm

PPP have already looted the country. They will be SHAMELESS again to participate in the elections.

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zafar

Jul 26, 2013 04:12pm

we support PPP decision......

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Siddiqui

Jul 26, 2013 04:12pm

What they will get from boycott? They even don't have horse sense! Their pathetic five years are enough!

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Muhammad Tahir Jamali

Jul 26, 2013 04:17pm

Immature decision. Should have appealed in Supreme Court. Status of provinces is not going to change.

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A Sheikh

Jul 26, 2013 04:30pm

Sour Grapes........

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Abdullah Hussain

Jul 26, 2013 04:36pm

Changing the date for presidential election was on reasonable ground however the concerned authority should have consulted & taken on board before deciding to change the election schedule. The way the election date was changed clearly shows a tilt towards a party which raises many questions about the neutrality of the concerned authority.

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krishna prasad

Jul 26, 2013 05:12pm

Pandora's box of misdeeds would open-up and PPP doesn't like it and intend postponing it as long as it can. All are colluded in the game to protect the corrupt.

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Hassan

Jul 26, 2013 05:44pm

@Tausif: Read the article again and look for the following line: "The main opposition party's decision came as it said that enough time was not given to campaign for the presidential election." The line also links to a more detailed story about the main complaint of PPP.

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Khan

Jul 26, 2013 06:26pm

Bias decision's can create more confusion, it clearly indicates our Judiciary is still not independent and its controlled by parties.

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Azhar Hussain

Jul 26, 2013 06:34pm

"The ruling Pakistan Muslim Legue - Nawaz (PML-N) had then written to the election commission requesting to delay the polls as the announced presidential elections were falling in the last ten days of Ramzaan, when most of the lawmakers were to be busy performing Umrah or sitting in Aitekaf." Oh for the Love of God, our lawbreakers busy performing Umrah and Aitekaf.

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azmat khan

Jul 26, 2013 07:01pm

Supreme court favored PML-N. This will continue in the future too as the proper and deserving people are in power now.

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Amir Mahmood

Jul 26, 2013 07:05pm

Postponing Elections? Nach Na Jana Aghan Tera

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Guest63

Jul 26, 2013 07:06pm

Most unfortunate decision was when the SCP accepted a petition filed on flimsy ( non constitutional ) and Pure personal grounds ( Umrah and eteqaf is a pure personal reason ) , The deporable decision was when the ECP after rightly rejecting the Govt plea for the postponement , threw in the towel without contesting and let SCP to trespass into ECP's domain upholding those flimsy personal reasons against the Constitutional obligations of the law makers . I hate to side with the PPP ( since I left it in march 1971 ) for taking the correct decision to underscore the hollowness of the ECP Independence and deplore a partisan decision of the Appex court , regardless of if they had no chance to win the election , without hearing and giving then a chance to air their point of view too as the stake holders in the process . ECP /CEC , SCP/CJP are not stake holders they are just the servant of the law and constitution , N-League/JUI are just the One of the many stake holders in the process and hearing only One stake holder and then ordering such a partisan move at the apex court , shows , how impartial the decision has been . people who have been lecturing the nation on every opportunity on the rule of law and abide by the constitution , have acted beyond their defined domains , to pay the new political masters in kind , a real dark day in the another checkered history of the SCP , some how the SCP/CJP reinvented the Doctrine of necessity , this time using flimsy Personal and Pure individual reasons ( Umrah and eteqaf is by now mean by any yardstick , a constitutional bar to take precedence upon being present and cast your vote on the date and plan an independent ECP announced as 6th Augutst )

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Moeen

Jul 26, 2013 07:11pm

@shuaib: You are absolutely correct, I respect Raza Rabbani for his role as a Senetor and as Head of the committees during the PPP Government, the rest is all

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Sadiq Nagri

Jul 26, 2013 07:15pm

Good decision by the PPP.The supreme court is clearly biased towards pmln which was reflected in their decision regarding the election date.PPP are using the boycott to protest against the unfair judiciary.

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SHAFIQ

Jul 26, 2013 07:26pm

I am not interested in any political party, my main concern is lack of maturity of the boycott. One of the party boycotting party showed disrespect of the court and reportedly called the decision " unjust". If that is not infantile , what is it ? If you come up with this kind of nuggets, whose decision will you accept ? There are other means of judicial decision making why did not you use those. Boycott is simply immature, infantile and undemocratic. Just to deny the vote to those who have a religious duty to perform. Mr zerdari would not know the commitment of those who persue this course. I do not belong to any of the religious persuasion, just the decency of the party leaders. Shafiq

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nabil

Jul 26, 2013 07:32pm

PPP decision is correct. The reason PMLN did not interfere during PPP last five years term. According to the agreement, PPP is bound not to interfere PMLN for next five years. This pattern will continue.

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SHAFIQ

Jul 26, 2013 07:34pm

@zafar: No bane on your decision butvit remains infantile. You are happy with it, so be it, don't expect sympathy. You know you will make a mockery of the democratic country. I do not like party hacks getting all the attention but look at the presidents ppp selected during the early days of ppp power. I hopped that this party would choose some scholar, some philosopher some renouned personality. No, I am disappointed but that is the way Pakistan is destined to go. Shafiq

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Shabut

Jul 26, 2013 07:40pm

"Rabbani thanked other opposition partners for their support and said their favours could never be repaid." Really, what have you been doing in the last five years, the only thing PPP did was to keep stuffing their partner's mouths as well as it's own with billions and billions of rupees. These thugs can not do anything positive and have decided to boycott the election in a lost cause. Bravo PPP, you don't fail to disappoint.

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G.Nabi

Jul 26, 2013 07:43pm

Very soon Zardari will pack his bag & fly out. Zardari Junior is already out of the countr, PPP is a rudderless ship.. Look at these spent cartridges, who was going to vote for another 5 miserable years.

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Naeem Gilani

Jul 26, 2013 08:04pm

The boycott decision taken by PPP and its allies was absolutely right. Supreme court decision was malafide and one sided. I do not understand the why CJ always give leverage to corrupt Nawaz Sharif and PML N. NATION WANT WHAT IS IN BETWEEN THESE TWO EVILS.

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Kamran N Choudhri

Jul 26, 2013 08:10pm

IS this Going to BE The Return of Kangaroo Courts

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Akhter Husain

Jul 26, 2013 08:16pm

Supposing war breaks out in the holy month of Ramadan,,will the law makers sit at home because of the holy month and Eid celebrations?Why take shelter and confuse people in the name of the holy month.

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Habib Rahman

Jul 26, 2013 08:26pm

The sky will not fall if the predential election is postpone for aweek or so due to Ramazan.There is no chance for ppp, Anp, BNP or PTI to win the election.The loot by ppp and its friendly opposition was historical, a change from one corrupt and incomptent govt to another and both on on IMF controle..Call it democracy which cannot protect its own people and their property and even the step is not on the agenda.Wether we have a president or not, nothing will change.We always have a boon period when ever the civil govt is replaced by military govt., a bane period when civilian govt take over.

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F S

Jul 26, 2013 09:02pm

he announced presidential elections were falling in the last ten days of Ramzaan, when most of the lawmakers were to be busy performing Umrah or sitting in Aitekaf......you got to be kidding me!!!

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Saqib

Jul 26, 2013 09:08pm

This will be another move of our beloved AAZ.

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Mukhtar Ahmad

Jul 26, 2013 09:16pm

Sad that today PPP Sheikh Rashid and people like Hamid Gul are of similar views. A game which Nawaz Sharif did not play in five years, PPP has started that game in the first month of PML N stint.

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Jul 26, 2013 09:27pm

PPP, Please do a big favor on all Pakistanis and announce that this Party is being dissolved, and will from now on contest and try to establish government in Somalia. See if you can mess up that country.

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Kamran Sikandar

Jul 26, 2013 09:28pm

If you can't win, boycott.

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Zee Pakistani in USA

Jul 26, 2013 09:45pm

I am not a supporter of PPP but suppor their's and the other parties' decision to boycott. Who is the supreme court to make decisions on behalf of the election commission? The courts are only to decide the legality of decisions. The EC made a legal decision that the SC has no business to over turn. But this shows how much the SC oversteps its mandate and interferes with affairs that are not its domain.

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Enaam E. Hanid

Jul 26, 2013 10:09pm

1. I feel the reason of boycott by PPP does not hold good because the candidate has not to go to each electoral college member instead it is all party based votes and not an individual's will. All party member cast votes to its candidate whether the candidate approach him or not. 2. PPP dishearten when MQM announced its support to PML(N) candidate, 3. PPP and PTI could not reach to an agreement for a joint candidate. Above reasons made PPP to ponder for withdraw as otherwise, defeat of its candidate was written on the wall.

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Enaam E. Hanid

Jul 26, 2013 10:12pm

@shuaib: Now PPP advocating Raza Rabbani, where were these persons when he has been cornered by Zardari during all of his tenure.

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A.Vetta

Jul 26, 2013 10:13pm

I regret this decision. It shows the continued inability of the PPP leadership to understand Pakistan.

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Gerry D'Cunha

Jul 26, 2013 10:25pm

muk mukka has already started - you (PML(N) rule until 2018 and we(PPP) will take over from 2018 to 2023

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Ali

Jul 26, 2013 10:47pm

@Abdullah Hussain: Chief Justice has made it very clear with few decisions that he favours his cousins (Rana Sanaullah) party. On one hand he decides PML N cases within hours while on other hand he keeps delaying public interest cases for years and years like that of missing persons. He is acting like a worker of PML N and that is why he turned blind eye and deaf ears towards massive rigging. Well done Arsalan Iftikhar

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Naeem Syed

Jul 26, 2013 11:28pm

@Khiyal: You missed the point. The PM has enough voted to elect who they want. This whole scramble is to save face that all because the would end up with just their own votes. The PTI and PML-Q had the courage to nominate and stand by their candidate. So lets play ME NA MANU.

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mkarghoobahmedsiddiqui

Jul 26, 2013 11:29pm

@shuaib: Why it is non issue? Supreme court has done an unconstitutional decision and PPP has right to protest. Remember I have never supported PPP in my life. But wrong is wrong.

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Abdul Mujeeb

Jul 26, 2013 11:41pm

Where is the president now days?

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Imran

Jul 26, 2013 11:46pm

I voted for pppp knowing that they are going to lose but leadership dont want to lose.Probably no leadership left.

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Sajjad Hussain

Jul 27, 2013 01:16am

Poor judgement by the Court results in quite unnecessary controversy. I am disappointed by CEC's attitude. Why does he have to take everything lying down?

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Ricardo

Jul 27, 2013 03:11am

The bottom line is that PML-N has an absolute majority which allows them to elect the president. So it does not matter what the other parties do. They can jump in the lake for all that matters. I am under the impression that the constitution stipulates BY WHEN the president should be elected. So if any party says they DID NOT KNOW; recall the Nuremberg trials. After nearly 70 years, we are still way behind. So please build this nation, and not your pockets.

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Jalaluddin S. Hussain

Jul 27, 2013 04:48am

Many years of mandates are enough for the PPP, ANP and Muslim League Q. They better compensate for their past relative lack of achievement and do something for the good of the nation now.

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pittmanway

Jul 27, 2013 07:52am

fully agree with Mr.Siddiqi comment below although I don't support any party, why P.P.P.is adopting a senseless confrontational approach? and it's v.likely they would not have won even if election would have happen on it's schedule date,they should try to win back voters by political maturity as masses knows now who is fooling them and they have prove by ousting P.P.P.

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Akhtar

Jul 27, 2013 08:03am

PPP knew very well that his candidate cannot win.But it was a resiprocating spirit to the attitude shown by PMLN in 2008 election. This reflects that PPP has no leadership to handle the issues on national level. Look at the leader ship of MQM and PMLN which decided to support PMLN candidate. This is called leadership and they are the true National leader. I would say Imran is also immatured in Politics.

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A. Khan

Jul 27, 2013 08:06am

" when most of the lawmakers were to be busy performing Umrah or sitting in Aitekaf." I almost choked when I read this. What hypocrites.

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ailly

Jul 27, 2013 09:45am

good move, after five years.

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A.A.Noorani

Jul 27, 2013 10:30am

A day earlier you file SEVEN nomination papers for the position and next morning you declare a boycott. What jinn baba came in your dreams that scare you so much?

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Ali

Jul 27, 2013 03:12pm

A day earlier you file SEVEN nomination papers for the position with a broad smile on your face along with your sycophants and next morning you decide and announce the boycott, Which Jinn Baba scared you in your dreams?

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Punjabistan

Jul 27, 2013 03:29pm

@abu: nawaz is also doing the same looting the country will plenty of SUGAR MILLS, 50+ factories and loads of consumer taxes.

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umair

Jul 27, 2013 03:48pm

A bold and a logical decision by the ppp conforming the fact that the SC is ruled by PML-N.PPP could have got enough support from the other parties pti was willing to support rabbani but the best decision was to throw the hypocrisy of SC at its face.

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Miskeen Khan

Jul 28, 2013 05:34pm

@Abdul Mujeeb: shshsh...Mr.Royal President is sleeping deeply and counting his last sigh of relief upside down into a deeep well?? Inshallah it would happen to each and every politician who is country's honest, honourable thief. Thanks

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NASAH (USA)

Jul 28, 2013 06:07pm

The final transfer of presidential power from one elected government to another had to be made unpleasant and controversial by both parties -- the PML (N) and PPP. What transpired the PML (N) to take the ECP, an independent institution to the court for a date change -- the old dictatorial bug of PML (N) against the CJ Sajjad SC -- has again bitten the PML (N) vs the Fakhruddin ECP? What difference 7 days would have made for the formality of a forgone conclusion -- that the PPP had to poison the presidential soup at the last moment?

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