RAWALPINDI: Despite the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) announcement of the poll schedule for local bodies elections in cantonment areas, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) seems unprepared for this next exercise of franchise due to cracks within its own internal structures.

The house of Imran Khan’s PTI in the garrison city looks divided and there is palpable tension between the two main groups – the party’s MPAs and the newly-appointed office-bearers.

“PP-9 MPA Asif Mehmood represents the cantonment area from Tench Bhatta to Gulistan Colony, near Ayub Park, while PP-13 MPA Arif Abbasi’s constituency consists of five wards in Chaklala and one ward in Rawalpindi Cantonment Board.

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“Both of them are running against the newly-appointed PTI North Punjab and Rawalpindi city office-bearers,” a senior party leader told Dawn.

Mr Khan had decided in a meeting on Feb 27 in Islamabad that MPAs and local office-bearers would jointly select candidates for the local bodies elections in their respective areas.

However, the party source said that MPA Asif Mehmood had already lodged a complaint against PTI Punjab North President Ghulam Sarwar and Secretary General Zahid Kazmi over their behaviour and had refused to sit with them.

Mr Sarwar has called a meeting of local office-bearers to finalise the strategy and selection of candidates at Mr Kazmi’s residence on Saturday, but local MPAs who were elected from the cantonment areas have not been invited to the meeting.

Tussle between local leaders, MPAs hampering party preparations; no agreement on candidates yet

“Divisions within the party will affect its performance in the cantonment board elections as both groups might end up fielding their own candidates and the PML-N will definitely cash in on such a situation,” he said.

The source said that these elections were being held on a non-party basis and all the groups would field their own candidates. Such a situation could divide the party vote, he said.

“In the past, parties did not give tickets to candidates in non-party elections, but rather formed groups and all their candidates were fielded in the form of an electoral group,” he said.

PTI Punjab North Zahid Kazmi told Dawn that the party would devise its strategy and finalise candidates for the cantonment boards of Rawalpindi on Saturday.

He said that PTI would formally challenge the fact that elections were being held on a non-party basis in the court from Monday.

However, he said, the party would participate in the elections whether they were held on a non-party basis or not.

He said that the party had received more than 150 applications from hopeful candidates for the Chaklala and Rawalpindi cantonment board elections.

He said that all office-bearers and MPAs, including Asif Mehmood and Arif Abbasi, were invited to Saturday’s meeting.

However, MPA Arif Abbasi denied being called to the meeting and said that without the presence of an elected MPA, the appointed president could not make any decision regarding candidates for the LG polls.

Published in Dawn March 21st , 2015

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