News Analysis |
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), has clarified that he is not going to contest any by-elections. He rubbished media reports and said that he has also informed the central committee of the party that he was not interested to contest the by-elections from NA-35 Bannu where the PTI chief Imran Khan has defeated Akram Khan Durrani.
Imran Khan secured 113, 822 and defeated Durrani who secured 106,820 votes but eventually decided to vacate the seat and keep the NA-95 Mianwali seat instead. Whereas, Maulana Rehman contested the elections as part of the MMA which did not perform as expected. The stalwart was also defeated by PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur in NA-58 Dera Ismail Khan.
In this regard, a prominent Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir said that “Anti PTI political parties rejected election results but they are divided on how to move forward. MMA saying they will not take oath in parliament PML-N said they need some time for consultation
According to some media reports, the MMA head is not interested to contest the by-elections, not because of possible defeat rather he fears his defeat will threaten his political career. A crushing defeat at the hands of PTI’s candidates has compelled the seasoned politician to remain outside of the parliament for at least five years.
Maulana’s MMA Whitewashed in the General Elections 2018
Surprisingly, the combined strength of contestants of three religious parties, Pakistan Rah-e-Haq Party (PRHP), Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek (AAT) and Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP), was more than the candidates fielded by Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA).
MMA, an alliance of five Islamic parties Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Jamaat-e-Islami, Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith, Islami Tehreek and Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan –could manage to get a dozen Provincial Assembly seats mainly from the traditional stronghold of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
Read more: Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s address causes outrage in Pakistan
Whereas the former ruling party in the KPK, PTI, managed to get 66 seats. PTI has a simple majority to form a government in the province without anyone’s help. It is important to mention here that it is for the first time in the history of Pakistan that a single party got elected the second time from KPK.
Interestingly, Awami National Party leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour has conceded openly and termed Imran Khan as “popular leader”. “The results indicate that Imran Khan is a favorite leader of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. I am a democratic person and I admit the defeat,” Mr. Bilour said.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman; the Real Loser
Maulana Fazlur Rehman was confident to lead a strong opposition and form an alliance which will stand by him to boycott the newly-elected assemblies. Initially, the PML-N and PPP attended some of the meetings and decided to be critical of the elections results but, later on, both parties agreed to take an oath and perform their duties as opposition in the National Assembly.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman fears he won’t be able to win any by-elections against the PTI. He has therefore decided not to put his political career at stake and stay quiet for almost next five years.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman also threatened to disrupt the political process in the country if the results of General Elections 2018 were not declared “null and void”. The MMA president chaired a Multi-party conference (MPC) along with the president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahbaz Sharif in Islamabad. The MPC was called by the MMA president who lost the elections. Maulana seemed angry and frustrated due to his electoral defeat in his constituency. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf got a simple majority in KPK and whitewashed its rivals.
MPC rejected the General Election 2018 and demanded ‘free and fair’ re-election across the country. “The All Parties Conference has completely rejected the July 25, 2018 elections with consensus,” announced Rehman while addressing the media after the PML-N-hosted conference concluded. “We do not consider this election to be the mandate of the public,” said defeated MMA president.
Read more: Maulana Fazlur Rehman chairs a genuinely ‘divided MPC’: Here are some…
But the MPC was essentially divided and the participants had their individual interests to pursue. In this regard, a prominent Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir said that “Anti PTI political parties rejected election results but they are divided on how to move forward. MMA saying they will not take oath in parliament PML-N said they need some time for consultation. PPP said don’t leave parliament but demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner”
Anti PTI political parties rejected election results but they r divided how to move forward MMA saying they will not take oath in parliament PML-N said they need some time for consultation PPP said don't leave parliament but demanded resignation of Chief Election Commissioner
— Hamid Mir حامد میر (@HamidMirPAK) July 27, 2018
The real loser is, however, Maulana and his allies in the KPK who have no other option except to protest and disrupt the political process in the country. It was, however, evident that the divided MPC won’t make any difference since the elections were ‘free and fair’ as declared by many Pakistani commentators and observers and Imran Khan has had popular acceptance.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman fears he won’t be able to win any by-elections against the PTI. He has therefore decided not to put his political career at stake and stay quiet for almost next five years.