LAHORE: A day after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that the general election will be held in the last week of January 2024, the Pakistan Peoples Party has sprung into action and directed its provincial chapters to send their recommendations for potential candidates for the national and provincial assemblies within 15 days.

PPP Secretary General Nayyer Hussain Bukhari has sent a letter to the provincial presidents of the party directing them to dispatch within 15 days to the office of party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari their recommendations for potential party candidates.

Deputy information secretary Chaudhry Munawwar Anjum says the provincial chapters have in fact been asked to submit three nominations for each seat.

The PPP has been demanding the ECP to give an election schedule.

As the National Assembly was dissolved on Aug 10, the polls should be held no later than Nov 9, 2023.The PPP urged the ECP to utilise all its resources for demarcating the constituencies, a constitutional requirement, at the earliest so that the violation of the 90-day restriction could be reduced to minimum possible time.

The ECP said the new constituencies would be finalised on Nov 30 after deciding objections to them by voters and/or aspirants for the seats.A PPP official says that more parties, including those which are not likely to contest the polls, like the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), are being approached for their support in the elections.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the PPP Punjab leadership has been called to Bilawal House for Saturday (today) to mobilise them for the elections, while a joint session of the federal council and central executive committee of the party is likely to be held in Islamabad within two weeks to take important political decisions.

A source said the parliamentary board would also be formed shortly to decide the party tickets, though the names of the ticket-holders would be made public only after announcement of the election schedule by the ECP.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2023