ISLAMABAD: A rout in Satur­day’s local government elections in cantonment areas has prompted soul-searching within the Pakistan People’s Party.

In background interviews, a number of PPP leaders and office-bearers said that top leadership’s lack of interest in the party’s reorganisation after its defeat in the 2013 general elections was responsible for the current situation.

Some PPP members even complained about “lack of vision” in the leadership after the assassination of former chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

Take a look: Cantonment elections

The local government elections in 42 cantonments held on Saturday proved to be a contest between PML-N and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

Of the 199 wards, according to unofficial results, PPP managed to win in only seven.

When contacted, PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar termed the party’s performance in the elections “disappointing”, saying that those who were given the powers to make decisions would have to say something in their defence.

He, however, denied a perception that the party had gone into the LG elections unprepared.

Many PPP members believe that the party lacked the vision of Benazir Bhutto and it would continue to face the same humiliation in future if the leadership did not reorganise the party.

“We have been facing political orphanage since the assassination of Ms Bhutto,” said a senior PPP leader, who had previously held key positions in the party’s Punjab chapter.

He said had the party done some soul-searching after the defeat in 2013 general elections and held someone accountable the situation would have been different now.

Another PPP member from Islamabad said the party lacked the vision of Ms Bhutto. He said the party was more interested in the coming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and the leadership completely ignored the local government elections in the cantonments which were held after 17 years.

He deplored that PPP could not even run its election campaign effectively and he did not see even a single party advertisement in newspapers. On the other hand, he pointed out, PML-N and the PTI candidates used media very effectively for their campaign.

Senator Babar, who is also spokesman for PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, said it was a great disappointment for the party. Talking to Dawn, he said: “I am confident that the party leadership will soon meet to discuss the fallout of LG elections in cantonments and prepare itself for the challenges ahead.”

He said the party had accepted the results in a democratic spirit and it would not say that the polls were rigged.

Mr Babar, however, rejected a perception that PPP had participated in the elections without doing its homework. He recalled a meeting that took place at the Zardari House in Islamabad on March 14 in which the party’s co-chairman had constituted three committees to find candidates and devise strategies for the coming local bodies’ elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and central and south Punjab.

He said Mr Zardari had authorised local office-bearers to make seat adjustments with any political party.

“Now those given powers to make seat adjustments and responsibility will have to say something after these results.”

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2015

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