PML-N has decided in principle to contest by-elections: sources

The PML-N has decided in principle to contest the by-polls, sources within the party said on Thursday.

According to the sources, a day earlier when PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz met Pakistan Democratic Movement chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, she discussed contesting by-polls.

The sources added that if the PPP decides to "stick to its decision of contesting Senate elections, then PML-N will also consider the same".

They said that the party will deliberate on the matter further after January 31 — the "deadline" given by the PDM to Prime Minister Imran Khan to step down.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that each party must decide on its own whether or not it wants to contest the by-elections, the sources said, adding that the matter will be taken up by the PDM in their meeting on January 1.

According to the sources, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari " will be persuaded to not pursue contesting the Senate elections as yet".

The PDM has said it will hear from PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari about the party's stance on various options in the ongoing anti-government campaign, when it gathers for a meeting scheduled in Raiwind on Friday.

PDM will hear from Bilawal about PPP's stance on Jan 1: Maryam

In a late night press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz expressed their willingness to hear from the party chairman himself what PPP's stance is on matters such as participation in the Senate elections and resignations from assemblies.

Their remarks come in the backdrop of a PPP Central Executive Committee meeting held a day earlier following which speculation was rife that legal experts have advised party heads against untimely resignations from the national and provincial assemblies.

Read: PPP CEC debates potential drawbacks of early assembly resignations

Bilawal, in a media briefing following the meeting, put to rest such rumours, saying that although the CEC is in favour of challenging the PTI government at every forum, including Senate elections, nothing final has been announced.

The PPP chairman also said the party would collect all of its lawmakers' resignations by December 31 and will put all matters discussed in the CEC meeting before the PDM leadership in the meeting on January 1.

By-polls schedule

The Election Commission of Pakistan has announced the schedule for by-polls on two National Assembly and five provincial assemblies’ seats.

By-polls for Sindh Assembly’s PS-43 (Sanghar III) and PS-88 (Malir II) and Balochistan Assembly’s PB-20 (Pishin III) will be held on February 16, 2021, while the voters in NA-45 (Kurram I) and NA-75 (Sialkot IV) and Punjab Assembly’s PP-51 (Gujranwala I) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s PK-63 (Nowshera III) will elect their representatives on February 19, 2021.