Monitor on Political Parties’ Internal Democracy | February 2016

AJK elections

2) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – Direct intra-party elections

3) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – Mr. Ejaz Chaudhry decides against

contesting for PTI Punjab President post

4) Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) – Membership campaign to form youth wing

5) Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) – Senator Iqbal Zafar

Jhagra selected KP governor

6) Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam – Fazl (JUI-F) – JUI-F and JUI-N merge

7) Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) – Leadership dissolves

party bodies for reorganisation

8) Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) – Party convener and 9-member Supreme

announced the party’s decision to participate in the upcoming Azad Jammu

and Kashmir (AJK) general election at the inaugural ceremony of the party’s

central secretariat for AJK chapter in Islamabad. He also stated that the PTI

AJK President Barrister Sultan Mehmood would be responsible for the party’s

ticket allocation and that a parliamentary board would also be formed under

Chairman Secretariat of PTI was issued in which the following names were announced

Sultan Mehmood had joined PTI on February 5, 2015³ and only four days later, was appointed President of the party’s

announced that the party’s elections due to be held this year (2016) would

follow the procedure of direct election from the Union Council level up to the

upon the matter of holding direct election between the different factions of

the party and the Chief Election Commissioner of PTI, Mr. Tasneem Noorani. The

party chairman formed a three-member committee consisting of Chaudhry Muhammad

02, 2016, at the PTI Election Commission Office in Islamabad and it was clarified

that the intra-party election will be held directly. He further added that one

election would take place per day. However, it remains undecided as to whether

the results will be announced collectively or at the end of each day. Mr. Noorani

added that voting would take place through SMS (1 SIM = 1 vote), and not using

IVR (a vote by phone method) like the last time. Electronic ballot papers will

be messaged to voters, and codes will be assigned to contestants. Voters will

SMS back with the code to register their vote.⁷

On February 25, 2016, PTI Election Commission also issued a notification that

consisted of ‘Standard Operating Procedures’ for the PTI Election

Workers’ Group leader Mr. Ejaz Chaudhry withdrew his candidature for the

position of PTI Punjab President and announced contesting election for a council

member in the Centre. ⁹ In the previous party election of 2013, Mr. Ejaz Chaudhry was elected as

PTI’s Punjab President. However, in May 2015, when all the party offices

were dissolved by the party’s Chairman on the orders of PTI Election Tribunal

and an interim set-up was established to run the party affairs, former Punjab

Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar was selected to head the PTI Punjab chapter

with regards to his eligibility for the position, is also contesting for the

post of PTI Punjab President. Media reports say that other candidates for the

slot include Dr Yasmin Rashid, Rai Azizullah and Mr. Waleed Iqbal, Mr. Umer

of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, announced a one-month membership campaign on February

19, 2016 at the Peshawar Press Club, in order to form the party’s youth

wing. As per media reports, the registration process commenced on February 20,

2016 and end on March 20, 2016. Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed Khan further elaborated that

the party had set a target of 500,000 members, of which 100,000 would be from

FATA. Moreover, the entire process of registration would be online and by dialling

other sister organisation, Islami Jamiat Talba. It will be called the JI Youth

Wing.¹¹ With regards

to procedure of the campaign, Mr. Khan stated that an awareness campaign would

be launched in order to ensure direct contact with people in different localities

across KP to register at least 500 youth in each union council.¹² However, it was clarified by the JI secretariat that membership campaign

issued by the Prime Minister Office’s media wing that said, simply, “The

prime minister has advised the president to appoint Iqbal Zafar Jhagra as governor

KP.”¹³ A

summary for the appointment had also been sent to the President of Pakistan,

the Governor of KP, his seat in the Senate will be vacated and filled through

the selection of a new party candidate for the senate. It is pertinent to mention

here that Senator Jhagra also serves as the Secretary General of the ruling

party in the centre, PML-N, and which is another post that he will have to resign

in Quetta, the two factions of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam — JUI-Fazl and

JUI-Nazaryati — announced that all differences between them had been settled

and that they had decided to merge with each other. The Central Amir

of JUI-F Maulana Fazlur Rehman and JUI-N Chief Maulana Asmatullah, along with

in Balochistan after differences had emerged over policy matters with the JUI-F.

A large number of senior leaders and workers attended the press conference,

including the Senate’s Deputy Chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri,

Maulana Saleemullah Khan, Maulana Anwar-ul-Haq Haqqani, JUI-F’s Provincial

KP, informed PILDAT that consultations regarding the merger took place at the

level of Markazi Majlis-e-Aamla (Central Executive Committee) and Markazi

Majlis-e-Shura (Central Consultative Council) and that majority of

all party organisations in Punjab and established three committees for the purpose

of its reorganisation. According to media reports, the decision was reached

at a meeting presided over by PML-Q Punjab President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

Senator Kamil Ali Agha, Mr. Basharat Raja, Dr Azeemuddin Lakhvi, Chaudhry Zaheeruddin,

Mr. Ahmad Yar Hiraj, Mr. Aamir Sultan Cheema and Mr. Tariq Bashir Cheema were

one each for upper Punjab, south Punjab, and central Punjab. A time period of

3 months has been given to these bodies for completing the reorganisation of

the party in Punjab. Furthermore, the committees are required to report to the

party leadership every two weeks along with visiting each district under their

jurisdiction and nominating new office-bearers after consulting with local party

leaders and workers. It has not been made clear whether any fresh intra-party

Movement (MQM) Mr. Altaf Hussain presided over an emergency meeting that was

called to discuss political and organisational issues, on-going cases in London,

on January 31, 2016, it was decided during the meeting that Mr. Nadeem Nusrat

would be made the Convener of MQM. ¹⁸ Earlier in October 2015, the appointment of Mr. Nadeem Nusrat as Acting

Convener of the Coordination Committee was announced. Mr. Nadeem Nusrat is the

first person to become Convenor of the party after the death of Dr. Imran Farooq

Supreme Council was also announced. The council consists of the following members:

purpose of this council as there is also no constitutional provision for it.