Monitor on Political Parties’ Internal Democracy
October 2016

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) – Party Conventions held in KP and Punjab

KP Ijtima being addressed by JI Chief Senator Siraj-ul-Haq in Naushehra

A two-day convention of the KP chapter of the JI took place from October 22-23, 2016 in Azakhel, Naushehra.¹ As per the official notification by the Jamaat, a record number of male supporters were present along with approximately 50,000 women folk and children at the convention. The JI Chief, Senator Sirajul Haq, JI Secretary General, Mr. Liaqat Baloch, and JI KP Chief Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed Khan addressed the convention.

JI Punjab Ijtima in Lahore

Similarly, a three-day convention of Jamaat Arakeen and Candidates for becoming a Rukan of the Punjab chapter of the JI took place in Lahore from October 28-30, 2016. JI Secretary General, Mr. Liaqat Baloch said that politics of the Punjab is usually in the hands of feudal lords and opportunists and he hoped that the JI convention would be a means of getting rid of these elements. It was also meant to send a message to the Kashmiris that the people of Pakistan and the Punjab were with them and would support them till they got their right of self-determination. On the second day of the convention, a Burhan Muzaffar Wani Shaheed Conference took place at which veteran Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Gilani and other Hurriat leaders addressed the people via telephone. The JI Punjab Chief Mian Maqsood Ahmed was also present on the occasion but details regarding the attendance in numbers of the convention were not shared.

Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam – Fazl (JUI-F) – Party Youth Convention held in Nowshehra

JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman addressing his party’s youth convention in Azakhel

As per media reports, on October 27, 2016, JUI-F’s Youth Convention was held in Nowshehra which was addressed by the JUI-F Chief Mau­lana Fazlur Rehman.² Besides the political statements that he made, no further details, such as the attendance of the convention, were shared.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – Meeting of the CWC takes place after almost 3 years

Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif chairs a meeting of the party’s CWC in Islamabad

On October 10, 2016, the Central Working Committee (CWC) of the PML-N met in Islamabad for the first time since the General Election in May 2013. The last time it met with the purpose of authorising tickets to party candidates.

The CWC constituted a five-member election commission under the leadership of Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal, former Deputy Secretary General of the party, in order to conduct intra-party elections, which had already been overdue since July 2015. Other members of the election commission included Mr. Imdad Chandio, Mr. Ali Asghar Jadoon, Mir Afzal and Ms. Najma Hamid. This procedure of constituting the election commission was reportedly carried out in accordance with the party constitution.

The CWC meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and attended by key Ministers of his administration, Central and Provincial office-bearers as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Mr. Farooq Haider and Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Mr. Hafeezur Rehman. The date for the meeting of the National Council and intra-party election was also decided.  

As per media reports, the Prime Minister Mr. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, in his opening remarks, declared that only senior members from each province would be given the chance to speak.³

It should be highlighted here that constitutional requirement for the party’s CWC is to meet every 3 months. According to the party constitution, the CWC is a nominated body by the President from among the members of the Pakistan Muslim League Council and its strength should not be more than 40 members. In 2015, it was reported that there were 76 members that constituted the CWC, out of which the party President nominated 55. The remaining were ex-officio members. It is not clear how many members attended the meeting. The full list of the participants’ names was not shared in the party announcements.

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) – Announcement of intra-party election schedule

The first meeting of the PML-N Election Commission took place on October 13, 2016 in Islamabad.⁴ The head of the five-member election commission Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal made the announcement of the party election schedule. He reported to the media that candidates were required to submit nomination papers to the commission by 4:00 pm on October 17, 2016, and may withdraw anytime before the meeting of the National Council, which was to start at 11:00 am at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad.

On October 18, 2016, PML-N intra-party election of the central office-bearers for the next term took place at the PML-N Convention Centre in Islamabad. According to Article 73 of the party constitution, every office-bearer holds office for a term of three years and in Article 120, it is mentioned that the party will hold election after expiry of 4 years term from the date of previous election at Central/Provincial/Local levels. This ambiguity about the actual term of office has been highlighted earlier as well in PILDAT’s Report on Internal Democracy of Major Political Parties of Pakistan, 2015. However, as recent media reports are suggesting, it may be said that the term of elected office bearers in PML-N is 4 years.

The Election Commission received nomination papers on October 17, 2016, but it did not release the final list of candidates. Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal reported to the media that the commission would display the list of candidates after scrutinising them and before the start of the National Council meeting. He also said that they had received only one nomination for many offices and most of the candidates were expected to be elected unopposed.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – Meeting of the Prime Minister’s close confidants

On October 17, 2016, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif held a meeting with his close confidants (Some in the media termed it as his kitchen cabinet) in order to finalise names of new office-bearers who would be elected for the next four-year term.⁵

As per media reports, an official hand out was issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, stating that the “political meeting” was presided over by the Prime Minister himself and was attended by the following persons:

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif addresses National Council of party after being elected unopposed as President of PML-N

On October 18, 2016, around 2,000 members of the PML-N National Council gathered together to elect the party’s central office-bearers.⁶

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was re-elected unopposed as President of the party. Earlier before his election, Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal had announced that Prince Abdul Qadir Baloch had submitted nomination papers to contest for the seat of Party President against Mr. Nawaz Sharif, but his papers were rejected, as he was not even a member of the party’s National Council.

As expected, most of the old faces were re-elected as the party’s central office-bearers. Leader of the House in the Senate Raja Zafar-ul-Haq was elected unopposed as Chairman of the PML-N.

 

References:

1. JI for reducing assemblies’ terms to four year, JI official website, October 23, 2016, as accessed on November 10, 2016 at
http://jamaat.org/en/news_detail.php?article_id=829

2. PTI conspiring against democracy, DAWN, October 28, 2016, as accessed on November 10, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1292737/pti-conspiring-against-democracy-fazl

3. PML-N office-bearers meet to fulfill legal formality, DAWN, October 11, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1289416/pml-n-office-bearers-meet-to-fulfil-legal-formality

4. PML-N’s intra-party election announced on Oct 18, DAWN, October 14, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1289891/pml-ns-intra-party-elections-on-oct-18

5. Kitchen Cabinet, DAWN, October 18, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1290672/old-faces-likely-to-retain-most-pml-n-offices

6. PML-N rails for hindering progress, DAWN, October 19, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
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7. Govt does not fear ‘dugdugi’ players, The News, October 19, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
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9. Shahbaz elected unopposed PML-N Punjab President, Jang, October 19, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
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10. Tug of war between MQM escalate, Express Tribune, October 3, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1192549/tug-war-mqm-london-office-escalates/

11. Altaf releases video, DAWN, October 7, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1288514/altaf-releases-video-asks-mqm-legislators-to-resign

12. London group expels four senior leaders, Express Tribune, October 12, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
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13. New Altaf aides appear, DAWN, October 16, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
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15. Dr. Farooq Sattar elected convenor, The Nation, November 2, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
http://nation.com.pk/karachi/02-Nov-2016/sattar-elected-as-mqm-pakistan-convener

16. Qaim to head disciplinary committee of PPP, DAWN, October 5, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1288008/qaim-to-head-disciplinary-committee-of-ppp-bilawal

17. Joint session of parliament on 5th, DAWN, October 2, 2016, as accessed on November 10, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1287468

18. No one can become PM by hitting a sixer, The News, October 6, 2016, as accessed on November 10, 2016 at
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/155303-No-one-can-become-PM-by-hitting-a-sixer-Bilawal

19. Imran boycotts joint session, The News, October 5, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/155037-Imran-boycotts-joint-session-on-Kashmir

20. Imran plans siege of Islamabad, DAWN, October 7, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1288516/imran-plans-siege-of-islamabad-on-oct-30

21. PTI to decide new date for Islamabad siege, DAWN, October 17, 2016, as accessed on November 11, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1290503/pti-to-decide-new-date-for-islamabad-siege-today

22. MQM in uncharted waters as Sattar ditches Altaf, DAWN, August 28, 2016, as accessed on September 12, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1280497/mqm-in-uncharted-waters-as-sattar-ditches-altaf

23. Dr. Sattar-led MQM sacks four London-based leaders, DAWN, September 21, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
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https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/151750-Sindh-PA-passes-resolution-against-Altaf-unanimously

25. London-based Muttahida leadership strikes back, DAWN, September 22, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1285321/london-based-muttahida-leadership-strikes-back

26. Altaf tasks Nusrat to make new MQM in Pakistan, The News, September 26, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/152757-Altaf-tasks-Nadeem-Nusrat-to-make-new-MQM-in-Pakistan

27. Mayor rejects support from London-based leadership, DAWN, September 27, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1286289/mayor-rejects-support-from-london-based-mqm-leader

28. Defeated PML-N Candidates to oversee development, DAWN, September 28, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1286563/defeated-pml-n-candidates-to-oversee-development

29. PPP reorganization in South Punjab completed, The News, September 7, 2017, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/148309-PPP-reorganisation-in-South-Punjab-completed

30. PPP announces organizing committees, PPP Official Website, April 14, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
http://www.ppp.org.pk/ppp-announces-organizing-committee-for-punjab/

31. PPP likely name provincial president after Eid, DAWN, September 13, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1283854/ppp-likely-to-name-provincial-president-after-eid

32. Nominations for PPP South Punjab offices finalized, DAWN, September 20, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1284897/nominations-for-ppp-south-punjab-offices-finalised

33. JI to review anti-graft drive, DAWN, September 13, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016, at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1283818/ji-to-review-anti-graft-drive

34. Jamaat stands by Kashmiris, The Nation, September 24, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
http://nation.com.pk/lahore/24-Sep-2016/jamaat-stands-by-kashmiris

35. PTI dissidents vow to free party from dictators, DAWN, September 5, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
http://www.dawn.com/news/1282173/pti-dissidents-vow-to-free-party-from-dictators

36. Secretary General Notification, September 10, 2016, PTI Official Website, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
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37. PTI Youth Wing revolts against Jehangir Tareen, The News, September 19, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/150949-PTI-youth-wing-revolts-against-Jehangir-Tareen

38. Imran’s close aid Saifullah resigns, Geo News, September 18, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
https://www.geo.tv/latest/114929-Internal-strife-Imrans-close-aide-Saifullah-Niazi-resigns-from-party-post

39. PTI Press Release, PTI Official Website, September 19, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
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40. Justice Wajihuddin resigns, DAWN, September 26, 2016, as accessed on November 9, 2016 at
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