LAHORE:

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari believes that holding elections in Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan on a significantly different timeline from the rest of the country distorts electoral outcomes and deprives both regions of genuine leadership, according to an informed source within the party.

A PPP leader, speaking to The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity, said that given electoral outcomes in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir have consistently favoured the party ruling Islamabad, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is of the view that elections across the country should be held on the same date.

He added that the PPP chairman believes that if elections are held simultaneously, people of Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir would vote more freely, instead of aligning their preferences with the ruling party at the centre.

He further said that the chairman may also undertake preliminary efforts to explore aligning election dates nationwide.

PPP Information Secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan, responding to questions about the chairman’s purported views, said that he was not privy to any such internal discussion within the party; however, he acknowledged that the sentiment indeed exists.

He said the party leadership has objected to federal government interference in Gilgit-Baltistan elections, particularly in view of visits by the prime minister and federal ministers.

Commenting on the chairman’s reported position, he said he was not in a position to confirm or deny it at this stage.

He added that the party chairman is expected to visit Gilgit-Baltistan after Eid. He further said that the PPP was currently engaged in seat adjustment arrangements with various political parties.

A senior party leader and former governor of Gilgit-Baltistan said he was also not aware of any such discussion within the party leadership; however, he agreed that aligning elections is a need of the hour.

He said that whether it is the PPP or the PML-N in government, the ruling party benefits from an undue advantage in elections, which, he argued, undermines the integrity of the electoral process.

Those outside government, he added, are placed at a significant disadvantage. Referring to alliance arrangements, he explained that the party has so far agreed only to a one-seat adjustment with JUI-F in Darel.

PILDAT Chief Ahmad Bilal Mehboob said he supports a “one nation, one election” proposition, arguing that the issue is not limited to influence over Gilgit-Baltistan or Kashmir but also relates to the disruptive nature of elections in general.

He said elections create administrative and political disruption and it is better to hold them collectively at one time. He further said he also supports the idea of conducting even local bodies elections on the same date as other elections.

It is pertinent to note that election outcomes in Gilgit-Baltistan since the formation of the elected assembly in 2009 have largely followed a predictable pattern, where the party ruling in Islamabad has typically emerged as the governing party in the region.

During the PPP’s tenure in the centre, it formed the government in G-B, followed by the PML-N during its federal rule, and later the PTI when it was in power at the centre. Similar patterns have also been observed in Kashmir elections.