News Analysis |
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has announced on Sunday that party will start distributing the tickets on May 31. PTI which is considered favorite to win the July 25 elections has reemphasized that party will not form an alliance with any political party.
The party had asked the potential candidates for tickets in national and provincial assemblies to submit assurances to not oppose and revolt against the party decision if denied the tickets. All the applicants have submitted their affidavits on stamp paper worth Rs100 along with the ticket-applications. It states that they will neither leave the party nor will they start a campaign against party’s elected candidates.
The allocation of tickets has ignited a fierce debate within the party, especially after the induction of powerful electables from PPP and PML-N.
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The defected leaders from the other parties, while bringing smile to the leadership of PTI, also made the situation worse for the party. The internal rifts after the inclusion of turncoats have been termed the biggest threat to party chances in the general elections.
PTI has not categorically downplayed these threats. While speaking with GVS, PTI’s spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry acknowledged that disheartened candidates will eventually leave PTI, if denied the tickets. But, if they leave, they will not defect to PML-N, rather they will go independent. Therefore, “Independent candidates are the major threat to PTI, even bigger than the crises-ridden PML-N.”
Nevertheless, unlike its fiercest rivals PML-N whose party leadership is in crises and faces a number of challenges on different fronts. PTI has no such issues to deal with, which gives it an edge over PML-N.
PTI has received staggering amount of applications for the national and provincial seats.
According to Fawad, party received more than 41,000 applications for 260-National Assembly and 577-provincial seats for the upcoming elections. It effectively means that 49 candidates have applied for one seat if the party decides to field a candidate from each seat in Provincial and National Assemblies.
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The total seats of the NA will be reduced to 260 from 272 after FATA-KP merger in the upcoming elections. The amendment reduced the NA seats for FATA from 12 to 7 and elections will be held after a year.
Fawad said that PTI would award tickets to its candidates in Islamabad and four-provinces on following dates;
- Islamabad on May 31,
- Punjab on June 2 and 3,
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on June 4,
- Sindh on June 5, and
- Balochistan on June 6.
He also announced that that party has devised a strategy to deal with the high amount of applications received for the party tickets. PTI has formulated a set of eligibility criteria for choosing the best candidate from among the applicants. It has decided not to field the candidates who lost by more than the margin of 20,000 votes in 2013 elections. Such weak candidates will be replaced by an electable.
In recent weeks, a five-member committee has been conducting the interviews of the candidates. It is bestowed with the responsibility to report its finding of the potential candidates to the parliamentary board. Party chief Imran Khan along with the parliamentary board will take the decision after reviewing the past record and current electable status of the candidate.
Moreover, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Pakistan Awami Tehreek and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) had approached PTI to form alliances in different constituencies, but the party chief Imran Khan had turned down their requests, Fawad elaborated.
The defected leaders from the other parties, while bringing smile to the leadership of PTI, also made the situation worse for the party. The internal rifts after the inclusion of turncoats have been termed the biggest threat to party chances in the general elections.
Some political analysts believe that PTI will face disintegration when the party will announce its candidates. Though party denies it and believes that party leadership is strong enough to tackles these issues. But, given the internal grouping and conflicts, it cannot be ruled out.
Nevertheless, unlike its fiercest rivals PML-N whose party leadership is in crises and faces a number of challenges on different fronts. PTI has no such issues to deal with, which gives it an edge over PML-N.
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But, regardless of the defection of many electable in Punjab and Nawaz’s anti-establishment rhetoric, a comeback from PML-N cannot be ruled out. The outcome of the election will also depend on how smartly PTI can distribute the tickets while avoiding disintegration at the same time. PTI’s founding member Fauzia Kasauri left the party last week for recruiting corrupt electable in the party.
PTI faces a serious threat of a wave of the defection of its own if it fails to manage its affairs effectively. In almost every constituency, the party is divided into two or three groups, which can make the task difficult. To win the elections, the party must choose the best winning candidate without taking pressure from any group.