Opposition vies to bring joint candidate for presidential elections
- By Web Desk -
- Aug 21, 2018
LAHORE: Following reservations on nomination of Aitzaz Ahsan as presidential candidate, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party have expedited efforts to nominate a candidate for the presidential poll with consensus, ARY News reported.
Delegations of both the parties on Tuesday held a meeting in this regard in Lahore and exchanged views on the election of president and joint strategy as the opposition in the National Assembly. Shehbaz Sharif, Khursheed Shah, Raza Rabbani, Ahsan Iqbal, Ayaz Sadiq and Rana Tanvir were also present on this occasion.
It is pertinent to mention that the PPP had nominated Aitzaz Ahsan for the slot of head of the state, while the PML-N expressed serious reservations on him.
Later talking to media, Ahsan Iqbal said the opposition wanted to bring candidate for presidential election with consensus.
“The opposition parties will hold a meeting after Eid and hopefully the forum will bring out positive result,” he said.
The former federal minister said PPP leader Farhatullah Babar had also said Aitzaz Ahsan was not a final candidate.
He said one should avoid speculations about presidential candidate. “If the opposition is not united, it will benefit the ruling party,” he added.
This should be noted that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has nominated party stalwart, Arif Alvi, as its candidate for the election of president of Pakistan.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued a schedule for the presidential election, setting Sept 4 as the day of the ballot.
President Hussain’s five-year term is set to expire on September 9. According to the Constitution, the presidential election must be held at least a month prior to the expiry of the incumbent’s term, which in this case would have been August 8.
The president is elected by an electoral college comprising members of the Senate, National Assembly and four provincial assemblies. Voting is held through a secret ballot.
Ordinarily, the presidential election is held either a month after the General Election, or at least a month before the expiry of the president’s tenure.