Fida Hussnain Lahore
The Pakistan People’s Party on Monday expressed serious concerns over allotment of electoral symbols to its candidates by the Election Commission of Pakistan for the upcoming general elections of 2024.
“If our independent candidates are not issued the symbol of “Arrow” the whole election will be controversial,” said PPP senior leader Chaudhary Manzoor Ahmed while addressing a press conference at the party’s secretariat in Lahore.
Zulfikar Ali Badr, Amjad Hussain, Chaudhry Atif Rafiq, Faiza Malik, Dr. R Khayam Hafeez, Neelam jabbar and other party leaders were also present there on the occasion.
The PPP’s seven leaders were not issued an electoral symbol of “Arrow”. Chaudhary Manzoor expressed disappointment over the situation, admitting that, “Unfortunately, seven of our candidates have not been allocated symbols. They have been released as independent candidates, a move that raises concerns about the fairness of the electoral process,”.
Highlighting their immediate response to the issue, he mentioned, “Our Secretary-General has written a letter to the Election Commission, seeking clarification and resolution. Regrettably, we have yet to receive a response from the Election Commission,”.
Drawing parallels with past electoral disputes, Chaudhry Manzoor remarked, “The similar disputes arose after the 2013 and 2018 elections, indicating that the transparency of the upcoming 2024 elections might be compromised. This situation could mark the beginning of electoral malpractices,”.
He also cited for urgent intervention of the electoral body, saying that, “We call upon the Election Commission to take notice of this issue promptly and ensure the proper allocation of symbols to our candidates.
