LAHORE: The Pakistan People’s Party has expressed willingness to join efforts for mid-term polls because it believes the last year’s general elections were ‘massively rigged’.

“We are on the same page with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf on its demand for mid-term polls because the PPP was the first party which raised a voice against the country’s most rigged elections. However, we have decided to press the Nawaz government in a non-violent way,” PPP Secretary General Latif Khosa said.

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Talking to Dawn here on Thursday, he said PPP would formally ask Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to invite all parties to evolve a transparent mechanism so that no party could point a finger at the fairness of elections in future. “We demand that new election commission and biometric system should be in place before the next elections,” he said.

“The PML-N government should invite the PTI to discuss the matter of verification of votes in controversial constituencies. The long march may eventually force the government to go for mid-term polls. We want to see accountability of those behind the massive rigging and if the PML-N government thinks that the PPP will support it on its fake mandate it is seriously mistaken,” Mr Khosa said.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari had recently asked the government to entertain the request of the PTI to verify votes in four constituencies and advised Mr Sharif to act like a prime minister and not as a monarch.

“Asif Ali Zardari’s statement has made it clear that the PPP is in no mood to give space to the government on the rigging issue,” he said, adding that PML-N should not expect that the PPP would continue to support it in the name of democracy.

Meanwhile, the PPP is considering joining the PTI’s long march on the invitation of its vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi. “We have received an invitation from the PTI, but the decision will be made after consulting party leaders,” Mr Khosa said.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2014