Senate elections: PPP criticises PML-L's strategy

After failing to elect senators unopposed, provincial lawmakers of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Friday criticised its main opposition group in Sindh Assembly - Pakistan Muslim League - Likeminded (PML-L) for pushing the coalition government towards the Senate election.
A short-spanned assembly session under the chairmanship of Speaker Nisar Khuhro was held which remained low attended. The leading ruling party's members said the PML-L had unnecessarily blocked the unopposed elections of senators. They also blamed the Likeminded faction had pushed the government to arrange the polls due to which government's funds as well as the legislators' time wasted.
Sindh Minister for Local Governments, Aga Siraj Khan Durrani said just for the sake of 'two-three' members the Senate polls were held and due to which government's funds and provincial legislators' time wasted. He, before the start of polls, declared that his party's chosen candidates had won the contest and said, "I congratulate them for their triumph in advance".
He also criticised those who demanding for holding of early general elections, saying the polls would take place as per schedule and the PPP government was not responsible to fulfil their wishes. Durrani alleged that in the past Senate elections had been tagged with financial corruption, saying seats for the Upper House had been on sale. "In the past people with bags in hands would buy the assembly members like goats. Bazaar of corruption was thriving for the Senate seats," he maintained.
A lawmaker of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Khalid Ahmed said the holding of Senate polls in a peaceful environment was the result of political reconciliation policy of MQM's Chief Altaf Hussain, and PPP Co-chairman and President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari. A legislator of PPP, Muhammad Rafiq Engineer claimed that those pushed the coalition government towards Senate polls did not cast their votes. Earlier, the Speaker said the Senate polls were part of the democratic norms and claimed the democratic government had upheld the democracy in the country.
The Speaker adjourned the session till Monday morning at 10 am. Later, outside the House, PML-L's Legislator Abdul Razzaq Rahimoon told Business Recorder that his party after failing to reach an agreement with the PPP had decided to go for Senate polls, and said it was a democratic process and everyone's right to contest in election. He said if the PPP was not interested in adjusting his party's demands then they had the right to block the unopposed election of Senators. He acknowledged that his party had a minimum electoral support in the House to elect its candidate, but the process of peaceful democratic transition should be continued.