The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) on Friday threatened to boycott local bodies elections if use of the government machinery in favour of ruling party candidates was not stopped forthwith. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Punjab Secretary Information Naveed Chaudhry said this while speaking at a news conference here at Rawalpindi/Islamabad press club camp office.
Naveed alleged the state apparatus was being used to rig the polls and opposition parties' candidates were being pressed to the wall. He said the ARD was seriously considering option to boycott the LB polls amid those circumstances.
In this connection, he informed the newsmen a strategy would be finalised in All Parties Conference (APC) scheduled for August 11.
Criticising the government's claims to hold free and fair elections, Chaudhry said President and Prime Minister themselves were supporting ruling members' election campaigns.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the role of Election Commission, Naveed said ARD has time and again submitted complains of pre-poll rigging to Chief Election Commissioner but no action has been taken against the persons involved yet.
To a query, he said opposition parties were not very optimistic about the victory in local government elections but their basic objective to contest elections was to expose government's hollow claims of true democracy.
PPP Punjab secretary information admitted that they were engaged in dialogue with the President Musharraf led government. However, he said the dialogue process has now been stopped as Peoples Party did not believe in striking any deal with the dictators.
On the one hand, he said the government was staging media trial against former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto but on the other hand National Accountability Bureau was not making the list of 15 corrupt nazims public.
He was of the view that fair, free and transparent general elections were the only solution to the country's political problems.
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