Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader and former premier Yousaf Raza Gillani has asked members of the National Assembly as well as Prime Minister Imran Khan to vote for him in the upcoming Senate elections.
The request was made in a letter written by Gillani, who will be contesting the elections as the joint candidate for the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a coalition of the 10 parties against the incumbent government. Gillani has asked the premier to forsake the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) own candidate, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.
Sharing his lifelong struggle and contributions in Pakistani politics, the PDM candidate termed the upcoming polls as crucial as they will determine the direction of the future of Pakistani politics. The seasoned politician added that we need political unity and need to put aside self-serving desires and political differences.
Addressing the parliamentarians, he said they have to come together to restore the sanctity and dignity of the legislature.
Gillani has stated that during his tenures as both a speaker of the NA and a prime minister for the country, he provided a level playing field to both treasury and opposition members.
“My journey comprises four long decades. I got elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly in 1985 and became the Prime Minister in the year 2008. Most of you are well aware of my partial actions about those days,” the letter read.
The former prime minister said he took the decision of contesting the Senate elections after giving it much thought.
Earlier today, the Supreme Court (SC) announced that the coming Senate elections will be held through a secret ballot.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has said that the campaign for upcoming Senate elections in the country will come to end by midnight tonight.
The ECP has asked all the political parties and the contesting candidates to follow the provisions of law and exercise self-restraint so that the poll is held in an orderly and peaceful manner on Wednesday.
