Early election not a problem for us, says PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah

• PML-N leader says the party's stance is very clear that polls should be held immediately.
• He, however, says other parties want election reforms to be conducted first.
• Sanaullah says he is confident of a win in Punjab, estimating that Hamza Shehbaz has the support of 198 members.

LAHORE: The PML-N does not plan to boycott the early election in the country, said a senior leader of the party.

“Early election is not a problem for us, in fact, our movement has been about early polls,” PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah told Geo.tv, “That has been our demand, as the previous national election was rigged. We do not plan to boycott it.”

On Sunday, in a sudden turn of events, Prime Minister Imran Khan dissolved the parliament in a bid to avoid being ousted by a vote of no confidence. The prime minister further sought a fresh election after 90 days.

A member of Khan’s party, who is the deputy speaker of the parliament, also blocked the no-trust resolution terming it part of a foreign conspiracy.

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The Opposition parties have taken the deputy speaker’s decision to the Supreme Court to have it declared unconstitutional and beyond the speaker’s jurisdiction.

But at the same time, Pakistan’s largest Opposition party, the PML-N, says it does not have any concerns about the election being held either, as long as the illegal proceedings in the parliament are reversed.

“If this unconstitutional and illegal step by the government is declared null and void [by the Court] and the government is formed by the Opposition then we will also head towards election,” said Sanaullah.

“The PML-N’s stance is very clear that polls should be held immediately. However, other [Opposition] parties want election reforms to be conducted first.”

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The PML-N leader further explained that another reason that his party is comfortable heading into polls is that those responsible for pre-poll rigging in the past are staying out of the political sphere this time.

“Those calls are not coming anymore,” he said.

Amid the political turmoil, the Punjab assembly is also scheduled to go to vote on Wednesday for a new chief minister of the province.

The PML-N has fielded Hamza Shehbaz, while Khan’s PTI is backing Pervaiz Elahi from the PML-Q, which was an ally of the ruling party.

Sanaullah told Geo.tv he is confident of a win in Punjab, estimating that Hamza Shehbaz has the support of 198 members of the provincial assembly, much above the 186 votes he needs to win.

“This number will further go up from 198 to 201 on Wednesday,” the PML-N added.