Islamabad: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday said he foresees a “stalemate” in the formation of a coalition government in Pakistan if someone is not ready to budge, indicating that the political turmoil in the cash-strapped country after the inconclusive elections is unlikely to end any time soon.
Bilawal’s remarks came a day after the latest round of talks between the top leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) ended inconclusively on Monday as both sides failed to reach a consensus on a power-sharing formula to form a coalition government at the centre following a fractured verdict in the February 8 election.
The PPP is reportedly asking for key constitutional positions of President, Chairman Senate, and Speaker of the National Assembly for its support to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N.
Speaking to reporters outside the Supreme Court, Bilawal said that the people’s message was that no single party could run the country and that all would have to work together.
“In a democracy, you call this process a compromise, which means that there will be a give and take if political parties form an alliance,” the 35-year-old former foreign minister said.
The PPP chairman said that after the polls, all political stakeholders would have to form a consensus on the way forward in order to save the democratic and parliamentary system in Pakistan.
“The only way to get out of this situation is dialogue and compromise,” he was quoted as saying by Dawn News.
When asked to comment on the PPP’s talks with the PML-N, he noted that more than 10 days had passed since the general elections while questions were also being raised on their legitimacy.
He said that technically the PTI was the “single largest [party]” but had said that it would not talk to anyone. He said that on the other side was the PML-N and the PPP had decided that it would talk to those who come to them.
“But if I have to give a vote to the PML-N, I will do it on my terms I will not give it on the N League’s,” he asserted.
Bilawal attributed the delay in forming the government to the “non-seriousness of the dialogue committee”. He said that this delay was not causing him any harm but was causing harm to democracy in the country.
“The faster this is resolved, it would be better for stability and the incoming government,” he said. Bilawal said that the PPP was “in no hurry” and was adamant on its stance, adding that it would not change.
“If someone else wants to change their stance, there can be progress. If they are not ready to change it, I foresee a dangerous stalemate,” Bilawal said, adding that this would not benefit democracy, the economy or political stability.
The general elections have been controversial with several serious allegations of widespread rigging to alter the results. Over 11 days after the voting, there is still no clarity on which party would form the government at the Centre.
Though independent candidates backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan won the maximum number of seats in Parliament, PML-N and PPP have announced that they will form a coalition government after the elections resulted in a hung Parliament.
However, despite multiple rounds of talks, a decision regarding PPP’s inclusion in the Cabinet remained elusive.
Sources said PPP Chairman Bilawal Zardari-Bhutto was playing smartly and trying to bring PML-N to a point where it withdrew from making a coalition government and then launching himself as prime minister and form a government with the support of independents of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who have now joined the Sunni Ittehad Council.
However, it will not be easy for Bilawal as PTI has already rejected the possibility of supporting the PPP.
To form a government, a party must win 133 seats out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly.
Independent candidates – a majority backed by the PTI — won 93 National Assembly seats in the election.
The PML-N won 75 seats while the PPP came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has also agreed to support them with their 17 seats.
