ISLAMABAD, Aug 20: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leaders met on Tuesday to finalize its candidates for the election.

The MMA and its component parties, particularly Jamaat-i-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, have entered into seat adjustments on local and provincial basis with opposition parties, including Pakistan Muslim League and in some cases, Pakistan People’s Party.

The alliance is also in contact with Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf and PML (Zia) leader Ijazul Haq has made a request for seat adjustment with the group.

The leaders of various parties came out to consult with their colleagues on a number of occasions, sources said. Maulana Samiul Haq, they said, had more complaints about his party’s share of seats.

The criteria for the seats distribution, the sources said, was based on the performance of each party in the last five elections.

The MMA’s leadership is likely to hold its first formal meeting with a PML team led by Raja Zafarul Haq on Wednesday to finalize the seat adjustment formula.

The central parliamentary board comprising heads of the parties, Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Samiul Haq, Allama Sajid Naqvi and Prof Sajid Mir, are attending the meeting besides JUI(F) Secretary-General Hafiz Hussain Ahmed and Liaqat Baloch of JI.

The representatives from the province concerned appeared before the board for giving reasons for selection of candidates, a source attending the meeting told Dawn.

Hafiz Hussain, when contacted, said the meeting had finalized half of the candidates from the NWFP and it had to decide about Punjab.