Opposition agrees to name one candidate for the President slot

Leaders of opposition parties had formed the Pakistan Alliance for Fair and Free Elections (File photo by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz)

• Ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) nominated Arif Alvi as its presidential candidate
• Presidential elections will be held on September 4

ISLAMABAD: An alliance of Pakistan’s opposition parties, on Saturday, agreed to nominate a joint candidate for the September 4 presidential election but the announcement will be made on Sunday.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) hosted Multi Parties Conference in the popular hill town resort of Murree, near the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
After day-long deliberation, PML-N central leader Ahsan Iqbal along with the representatives of opposition parties told reporters that opposition leadership discussed various feasible names for the slot.
“Tomorrow (On Sunday) the name of joint candidate will be announced,” Ahsan added.
The multi-party opposition alliance, the Pakistan Alliance for Fair and Free Elections, includes Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Awami National Party, National Party, Qaumi Watan Party and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP).
Earlier this week Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) nominated senior party leader and legal wizard Aitzaz Ahsan as its candidate for the post of president of the country.
But PML-N initially objected Aitzaz Ahsan’s nomination and maintained that PPP did not consult any of the opposition parties before the decision.
Ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), last week, nominated Arif Alvi as its presidential candidate.
Arif Alvi is one of the founding members of PTI and in July 25th elections Alvi won from Karachi for the national assembly constituency.
“Today party leadership reiterated that Arif Alvi is PTI’s candidate for slot of President of Pakistan,” Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told reporters, on Saturday, after the party meeting.
“Apparently we will have no problem for Presidential election as all our allied parties are with us,” adds the Information Minister.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday asked the potential candidates for the post of the Presidential election to submit their nomination papers by Monday 27, 12 noon.
The president is elected through a secret ballot, by the electoral college, which comprises of members of the Senate, National Assembly, and four provincial assemblies.
The Presidential election is scheduled to be held on September 4.