FRONTIER SENATE RACES

C O N F I D E N T I A L PESHAWAR 000109 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/7/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PK SUBJECT: FRONTIER SENATE RACES REF: PESHAWAR 094 CLASSIFIED BY: Michael Spangler, Principal Officer, Amconsul Peshawar, State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) On March 6, President Musharraf's PML-Q party and its junior partner -- the PPP-Sherpao (PPP-S) -- won four out of eleven senate seats in indirect elections held in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) assembly. This was an impressive performance since these parties commanded only a thin minority barely sufficient to elect two senators on strict party lines. Money reportedly played a key role, perpetuating political corruption and widespread cynicism. The PML-Q strategy appears to have paid off royally, boosting its national senate majority. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) On March 6, eleven NWFP senators --6 Muttahida Majlis-I-Amal (MMA),3 PML-Q, 1 PPP-S, and 1 Awami National Party (ANP) -- were elected, allowing the PML-Q to gain two seats and the PPP-S one seat in the national senate sweepstakes. PML-Q's Salim Saifullah Khan (who sources believe will become the next Senate Deputy Chairman, a position previously held by current NWFP Governor Khalilur Rehman),Ammar Ahmed Khan, and Begum Fauzia Fakhruz Zaman along with the PPP-S Muhammad Gufran were standout performers, with each of the men reportedly bribing key assembly members heavily to cross over party lines to vote for them. The GOP coalition knocked two MMA religious party candidates and one PPP-P incumbent out of their seats. ¶3. (C) MMA and PPP-P senior party officials took a number of steps to discourage party cross-overs, but a secret ballot vote provided enough cover for dissident members to deny they had violated party discipline. The purchase price of key cross-over votes reportedly reached as high as Rs. ten million (USD $167K). ¶4. (C) COMMENT: In the lead-up to Senate elections, NWFP Chief Minister Durrani criticized the PML-Q's "money" strategy, although some of his own candidates tried to buy their seats and his JUI-F party bloc proved more susceptible than others to higher PML-Q prices. The local press trumpeted the view that the elections reflected "the money factor," further entrenching public cynicism about their elected representatives. The buying of elections perpetuates a culture of political corruption, as senators-elect strive to reclaim their "investments" through improper practices. The national assembly will elect four senators from the FATA on March 10, and most observers expect the PML-Q to hold three of these seats. END COMMENT. SPANGLER