 |
A senior PPP leader told IOL Zardari is engaged in lobbying for his own candidacy. (Reuters)
|
ISLAMABAD — Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto and cp-chairman of her ruling Pakistan People Party (PPP), is eyeing the presidential palace, vacated by resigned president Pervez Musharraf under impeachment threats.
"He is the most suitable candidate for the post," Farzana Raja, a PPP lawmaker, told IslamOnline.net. on Thursday, August 21.
She said almost all PPP leaders have asked Zardari to seek the
coveted office.
"There is a complete unanimity that Zardari should be the next president.
"All the PPP workers, leaders and elected parliamentarians want him to be the president because of the two reasons," Raja said.
"First, it is the right of PPP after sacrificing Benazir Bhutto and being the majority party," she argued.
"Secondly, we want a trustable man like Zardari to hold the post of President with the article 58-2B."
The clause, which allows the president to dissolve parliament, has been often used by different presidents to dissolve the elected governments of former premier Nawaz Sharif and Bhutto between 1988 and 1999.
The PPP promised in its election manifesto that the 58-2b clause would be annulled if voted into power.
The promise has often been reiterated by Zardari, took over as PPP co-chairman after Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack in December, and other party leaders during the past few months.
Under the constitution, a new president should be elected by members of the four provincial assemblies and the two houses of the national parliament within 30 days of Musharraf's resignation.
Lobbying
Salman Taseer, Punjab Governor and a close aide of Zardari, also said the PPP co-chairman will be installed as the new president.
The provincial PPP councils have passed resolutions calling on Zardari to accept the nomination in the country’s better interest.
The PPP's central executive committee (CEC) is scheduled to meet on Friday, August 22, in Islamabad to make a final decision.
A senior party leader claims that Zardari himself is engaged in lobbying for his candidacy.
"He cannot openly show he wants the top-most post, that is why he is using others’ mouths for that," he told IOL, requesting anonymity.
Zardari’s name was first suggested as a presidential candidate by Altaf Hussain, the chief of the pro-Musharraf Muttehida Quami Movement (MQM).
The PPP leader claims Zardari had asked Hussain to table his name as the next president.
"Now Zardari can say that he is the uncontroversial candidate for the presidential post as even opposition parties want him to be in the president house."
However, the party leader insists that some PPP members oppose the idea of Zardari assuming that office.
"Those members fear that if Zardari enters the president house, then it will be difficult for the PPP to annul 58-2B in line with its promise as he won’t prefer to be a powerless president."
However, Ms Raja argues that whether Zardari becomes the president or not, the 58-2b clause will be scrapped in any case.
"This is our promise to the nation, and we will abide by that."
Image Building
|
|
| "He wants to project himself as an uncontroversial and accepted-for-all figure," Ghousi told IOL. |
Analysts say Zardari is presenting himself as the most suitable candidate for the presidential slot just to polish his image.
"I don’t think he will accept the candidature because if he becomes the president, then what would be left for him? He will not be able to play an effective role in the politics, and will merely become a fatherly figure," argues Sabihuddin Ghousi, a Karachi-based senior political analyst.
He sees a likely chance that after being nominated by the party and opposition as a presidential candidate, Zardari will eventually decline the post.
"In my opinion, this is only an image-building stunt. He wants to project himself as an uncontroversial and accepted-for-all figure.
"But I don’t think that without the 58-2b he will have something enjoyable in the president house."
Zardari earned the reputation of Mr ten percent due to his alleged involvement in conspicuous corruption during the two stints of his spouse between 1988-1990 and 1993-1996.
The two governments were dismissed by the then presidents Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Farooq Ahmed Leghari on the charges of corruption.
Zardari has often been cited as one of the reasons behind the downfall of the PPP’s governments.
Ghousi says that Zardari is not in a position to backtrack on the 58-2B clause even if he becomes the president.
"Let me remind you that he is not a Bhutto. He is Zardari. His position is not as strong as a Bhutto’s could be. Therefore, if he backtracks on his promise, he will lose whatever popularity he enjoys at the moment."
|
