- Both parties reach seat-adjustment formula.
- Raja Pervaiz Ashraf thanks PM Shehbaz for support.
- By-polls to be held in NA-129 and other constituencies.
ISLAMABAD: Two ruling alliances in Centre — Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) — have decided to jointly contest the upcoming by-elections nationwide.
“Both parties [PPP and PML-N] have agreed to contest the by-elections together,” said Hanif Abbasi, a PML-N leader who also holds the federal railways portfolio, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Saturday.
Several constituencies are up for grabs as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) recently disqualified several lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) following their convictions in cases related to the May 9 riots.
As per the ECP schedule, the by-elections will be staged in the NA-66 Wazirabad, NA-129 Lahore-XIII, and PP-87 Mianwali-III constituencies on September 18, while in NA-143 Sahiwal-lll, NA-185, DG Khan-ll, PP-203 Sahiwal-Vl, NA-96 Faisalabad-II, NA-104 Faisalabad-X, and PP-98 Faisalabad-l, the polling will take place on October 5.
Addressing the presser, Hanif Abbasi said that both parties made the decision in the country’s best interest. “We are allies, and the leadership of both parties has shown maturity,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, PPP’s Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that both parties had reached a seat-adjustment formula, under which the candidate from the party that finished runner-up in the previous general election would be fielded again from that particular constituency.
“We welcome the PML-N delegation and have finalised the electoral arrangements amicably,” he added.
Ashraf also thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for his role in finalising the agreement.
Several PTI lawmakers, including Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul and others, were convicted by an anti-terrorism courts in various May 9 cases.
Thousands of supporters of PTI founder Imran Khan stormed public property and military installations, including the Corps Commander House in Lahore, on May 9, 2023, in protest against the former premier’s arrest.
The riots — in which lives were lost — erupted after the PTI founder was taken into custody from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a graft case.
Several PTI leaders and workers were released on bail after their arrests, while many remain behind bars.
