LAHORE, May 25: The Pakistan People’s Party will continue mounting pressure on the military regime for the establishment of an interim government of national consensus but will take part in the elections “under protest” even if the demand remains unmet, party sources said here on Saturday.

The sources said the party would not accept Gen Musharraf as president even if it contested the elections, and its members elected to the parliament would demand the election of a new president in accordance with the relevant provisions of the constitution.

The PPP, like many other parties, has rejected the presidential referendum on the ground that this was not the constitutional way of choosing the head of state.

The PPP is preparing for the elections, which Gen Musharraf said on Saturday would be held before October. Lists of candidates suitable for various constituencies have already been prepared, but would be finalized in due course.

Other parties in the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy as well the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal are also seeking an interim set up to ensure free and fair elections. For the time being, no party is thinking of boycotting the elections even if Gen Musharraf is not inclined to accept any of their demands. They think that boycotting the elections would amount to allowing a walkover to the pro-government parties.

PPP officials said Gen Musharraf was not the legitimate president of the country and the party would not recognize him even if it took part in the elections and won. They said the party would also stick to its stand that Gen Musharraf had no right to amend the constitution, and party members elected to parliament would reiterate the position on the floor of the house.

The PPP, the sources said, favoured the restoration of joint electorate, an increase in the number of assembly seats and women’s representation in parliament. But, they said, this did not mean that it conceded the military regime’s right to amend the constitution.

Answering a question, the officials said that the party had already succeeded in convincing the world community that the presidential referendum was a farce. It would continue to insist that elections in the absence of a neutral set up would also lack credibility.

The sources said that the PPP had never thought of converting the ARD into an election alliance. The party would contest the elections from its own platform and make adjustments with other parties according to local needs.

In response to a question, the sources said the future belonged to the PPP and a unified PML or a government-backed alliance of various parties would be unable to block the PPP’s way to power.

About the PPP’s policy towards religious parties, the sources said it remained unchanged. The party had ideological differences with the parties and would like to stay away from them.