The election for new president has been scheduled for 4th September
2018. In Pakistan, president is elected by the Electoral College, which
comprises of Senate, National assembly and the provincial assemblies. Each member
cast his/her vote at the respective assemblies to elect the next present.
The three candidates, who have filed their nomination papers
for the election of president, are Arif Alvi nominated by the ruling party, Pakistan
Tehreek Insaf (PTI). He has also won one seat in National Assembly. Aitzaz
Ahsan is a former senator of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from Punjab. Maulana
Fazal-ur-Rehman, chief of JUI(F) is the joint candidate of Muthaida Majlis-e-Amal
(MMA) and PML(N). It is worth mentioning that Maulana was not elected by the
voters from two of the constituencies of his own hometown Dera Ismail Khan. It
appears that he is playing the final gamble to fetch the post of President of
Pakistan to save his dignity, whatever is left.
PTI is not likely to face any competition in winning the
presidential elections because the opposition that came in assemblies bragging
to be a strong opposition and claiming to give a tough time to PTI and its allies
is proving a house of cards. They could not remain on the same page regarding
nomination of the joint candidate. The complacency of PTI is based on the fact
that it already enjoys support of 346 members of the National Assembly,
Provincial Assembles and Senate. PTI is also backed by MQM(P), GDA, PML(Q) and
Baluchistan Qaumi Movement.
The irony of the fate is that the opposition failed in
arriving at consensus on the name of the joint candidate. To disassociate
PML(N) take refuge behind the allegation that Aitzaz Ahsan in one of his public
speech during the election campaign used some derogatory remarks Kulsoom Nawaz,
wife of convicted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. PPP
seems adamant by not pulling out Aitzaz Ahsan to make Maulana a joint candidateof
the opposition. If one peeps into the history, Maulana has enjoyed support of
both PPP and PML(N), which kept him Chairman of Kashmir Committee.
The lust for power of Maulana is evident from his recent
visit to Karachi and seek support from MQM(P). Both the parties extended their
hospitality but very politely expressed their stance; they are already in
alliance with PTI.
If one examines the prevailing scenario carefully the PTI confidence
is not out of the place. Due to the opposition in complete disarray, soon PTI, allied
parties and their vote bank throughout the country will be celebrating victory
of presidential election. All the credit will not only go to all the alliance
parties for supporting PTI, but historian will also write that opposition offered
the position to PTI by not showing its unity.
Moral of the story is that Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman has
enjoyed his days and time has come for him to announce retirement from politics
and confine himself to religious preaching to develop interfaith harmony, if he
can. He accused Pakistan Army for ‘engineered election’ and also made efforts
to convince elected members not to take oath.
