The Senate race looks to be more competitive than previously thought, as one major party which had considered a boycott has now stated that it will contest the elections. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), whose leaders had before considered resigning from their posts in the national and provincial assemblies, has decided against resignation and also announced to take part in the Senate polls. Instead, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has stated, after the CEC meeting, the PPP will continue its resistance by challenging the incumbent government from within the assemblies.
Was this any surprise? Only insiders would know whether PPP’s threat to resign was genuine or just part of the bluff—but it doesn’t seem to matter now since the party has shifted gears and is heading into the competitive Senate polls—as it always should have from the first place. Resigning and boycotting the Senate elections would have been disastrous for the resistance—it would have been a gift to the government, allowing them to pass bills without any opposition. This was the wise and pragmatic decision for PPP’s own future, and for Pakistan since more competitive political parties only strengthen democracy.
Bluff or not, however, some political players still appear unprepared for PPP’s walking back, and that is the remaining leadership of the PDM, most of whom do not hold office in the national or provincial assemblies. Now it falls upon Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maryam Nawaz to come up with a united stance on the issue of en masse resignations and participation in the upcoming elections on a number of seats of the national and provincial assemblies and the Senate, something which seems to have caught them off guard. The PDM should have considered its stance for such a possibility, since the likelihood of PPP resigning always looked distant. The opposition effort certainly looks weak—and the blame lies on its members, who seem unable to present a united coherent statement on anything, without constantly retracting.
https://nation.com.pk/02-Jan-2021/an-unprepared-pdm
An Unprepared PDM: EDIT IN The Nation, Jan 2, 2021
The Senate race looks to be more competitive than previously thought, as one major party which had considered a boycott has now stated that it will contest the elections. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), whose leaders had before considered resigning from their posts in the national and provincial assemblies, has decided against resignation and also announced to take part in the Senate polls. Instead, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has stated, after the CEC meeting, the PPP will continue its resistance by challenging the incumbent government from within the assemblies.
Was this any surprise? Only insiders would know whether PPP’s threat to resign was genuine or just part of the bluff—but it doesn’t seem to matter now since the party has shifted gears and is heading into the competitive Senate polls—as it always should have from the first place. Resigning and boycotting the Senate elections would have been disastrous for the resistance—it would have been a gift to the government, allowing them to pass bills without any opposition. This was the wise and pragmatic decision for PPP’s own future, and for Pakistan since more competitive political parties only strengthen democracy.
Bluff or not, however, some political players still appear unprepared for PPP’s walking back, and that is the remaining leadership of the PDM, most of whom do not hold office in the national or provincial assemblies. Now it falls upon Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maryam Nawaz to come up with a united stance on the issue of en masse resignations and participation in the upcoming elections on a number of seats of the national and provincial assemblies and the Senate, something which seems to have caught them off guard. The PDM should have considered its stance for such a possibility, since the likelihood of PPP resigning always looked distant. The opposition effort certainly looks weak—and the blame lies on its members, who seem unable to present a united coherent statement on anything, without constantly retracting.
https://nation.com.pk/02-Jan-2021/an-unprepared-pdm
Published in Pak Media comment and Pakistan