KARACHI, Aug 11: The Pakistan People’s Party has opposed the government’s plan to induct ‘volunteers’ for the electoral process, and described it “a move to plant armed activists of the ruling coalition to manipulate the ballot.”

The party has expressed doubts that foreign observers would be able to get anything worthwhile in the face of the ‘massive pre-poll rigging by the government’.

The contentions were made by PPP’s Deputy Secretary General Mian Raza Rabbani at a press conference on Thursday. Sherry Rahman, Taj Haider and Jam Saifullah Dharejo were accompanying him.

Accusing the government of resorting to institutionalized rigging, kidnapping and torture of Awam Dost candidates and their relatives, Mian Rabbani said that after the chief election commissioner, acting upon PPP’s objections, had rejected the proposal to induct private security guards for the electoral process, the regime had decided to induct the ruling party cadre under the garb of ‘volunteers’ to fill in the manpower void in Sindh, especially Karachi.

“The government has decided to engage those who have applied for jobs in police department even though they have neither been selected nor have they undergone any training.”

Under this plan, Mr Rabbani claimed, the Sindh coalition had conspired to give arms to its cadre and detail them at different polling stations for stuffing ballot boxes. He maintained that it would be a violation of the constitution because no one was authorized to raise or maintain a private army.

Mr Rabbani hoped that the election commission would take immediate remedial steps although, according to him, it had so far failed to get its decisions implemented.

About international observers, Mr Rabbani said they were coming very late because on the election day they would hardly get anything as they would not be able to notice the use of state power to kidnap and torture the opposition candidates in order to prevent them from filing nomination papers or forcing them to withdraw.

Replying to a question, he said that briefing diplomats on the regime’s alleged manipulations and pre-poll rigging was not aimed at seeking their help, but to clear their perception about the government’s claims of transparency in the LB elections and to emphasize that fair elections were not possible under Gen Musharraf’s dispensation.

In reply to another question, he said that ANP’s Asfandyar Wali had assured him that his party would support the decisions taken by the APC of the ARD although it had not attended the conference because of its reservations over the MMA government’s policy in the NWFP.

The PPP leader alleged that after getting 1,095 candidates elected unopposed, the government was now resorting to use of state power against opposition parliamentarians. In this context, he referred to the alleged attempt on the life of Nawab Yousuf Talpur and other PPP leaders in Tharparkar and said that despite the EC’s indulgence, the FIR against attackers had not been registered.

Mr Rabbani said that when the SHO and the DPO concerned had refused to register the FIR, he had spoken to the EC secretary who had later informed him that the officials would allow registration of the FIR. However, he added, the assurance had not yet materialized.

Jam Saifullah Dharejo circulated a copy of the letter addressed to the CEC with regard to the alleged inclusion of 15,000 bogus votes in Ghotki and Khangarh talukas. According to the PPP, names of the non-residents without NIC had been included in the voters’ lists.