KARACHI, Sept 6: The Pakistan People’s Party on Tuesday maintained that any electoral process without the presence and participation of Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif would be a farce and would constitute a serious setback to democratic dispensation and weakening of the country’s integrity.

This was stated by the Secretary General of the PPP, Sindh Chapter, Nafees Siddiqui in a news conference in which he also refused to accept the “manipulated and rigged” results of the local body elections.

Mr Siddiqui demanded that if the regime was sure of its strength, it should declare amnesty and allow Ms Bhutto, Mr Sharif and others to return and take part in the elections. The results would be emphatic rejection of the regime, he said.

He demanded that Gen Pervez Musharraf should step down and a government of national consensus should be formed to hold elections under an independent and permanent election commission.

Mr Siddiqui said that under the Musharraf dispensation, there cannot be free, fair and transparent elections as was evident in the two phases of the local body elections.

Endorsing the Sept 9 strike call of the national conference of opposition leaders, Mr Siddiqui claimed it would be the beginning of the rise of the people’s power against usurpers and dictators.

Asked how credible that campaign would be in which those who had played key role in overthrowing Z A Bhutto’s government were also present, Mr Siddiqui said in the present circumstances whosoever was prepared to join the struggle must play his role. He said that the decision of the national conference was to evolve a national consensus against dictatorship.

Mr Siddiqui said the ARD had decided to organise itself at district level to galvanize people’s support.

He told a questioner that the reason why the PPP had decided to support its proxy candidates even in the third phase of the LB elections, despite “massive rigging and state terrorism” in the first two phases, was that it wanted to expose the regime’s anti-people to the core.

Mr Nafees Siddiqui also referred to the rapidly changing international and regional situation and claimed that instead of local body elections, general elections should have been held.

Mr Siddiqui contended that due to regime’s policies, the whole nation was getting a bad name. “Musharraf does not want to banish terrorists and extremists, he is taking cosmetic actions against them to hoodwink the world opinion to prolong his dictatorial rule”, he said.