Screengrab of PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s press conference
As previously announced, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday confirmed that party Chairman Imran Khan will contest all 33 seats in the upcoming National Assembly by-elections on March 16—the first person in Pakistan’s history to run for that many seats.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Khan would the party’s candidate for all 33 seats, while MNAs who had resigned would serve as covering candidates. The PTI’s aim, as previously stated, is to put pressure on the ruling coalition in the form of PTI’s mass popularity if Khan wins a majority of the seats being contested—even as the voters know that he will not actually join Parliament. This, the party hopes, will trigger fresh elections, an aim it has already tried to achieve by dissolving the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, which are due for elections by mid-April.
“The nation will give a clear message on March 16: the nation completely trusts in the leadership of Imran Khan and it stands with the PTI. The people will also voice their reservations against the group that’s been imposed on us,” claimed Qureshi.
The PTI’s popularity is massively aided by economic indicators, with the country at the brink of default due to the ruling coalition’s inability to take timely decisions. After months of dithering and claiming he “did not care” if the IMF revived a stalled program with Islamabad, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has ended an unofficial cap on the Pakistani rupee’s value, triggering double-digit depreciation that has boosted already-record inflation. The IMF, per reports, is seeking even harsher measures, including higher utility tariffs and taxes, which would further discourage the public from voting for representatives of the ruling coalition, particularly the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The 33 seats being contested in March were vacated after NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted the resignations of PTI lawmakers and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed last month. In July 2022, Ashraf had similarly accepted 11 resignations, which Khan had personally contested, winning six of eight constituencies. The remaining three were reserved seats for women.
Delaying polls
During his press interaction, the PTI vice-chairman also raised concerns over rumors of attempts to delay the polls in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, saying the governors of both provinces would be defying the Constitution if they fail to issue a timely date for polls. “The Constitution does not permit for an hour’s delay and we won’t stand it. The elections should be ensured within 90 days in line with the Constitution,” he said, reiterating claims of the ruling coalition fearing polls because it knew it would be defeated.