The chief election commissioner of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tendered his resignation on Saturday after developing differences with party Chairman Imran Khan on intra-party elections.
The party had hinted at holding elections in May but apparently it does not seem possible in the current circumstances. In this regard, Imran Khan has convened a meeting of senior leadership.
Confirming the development, sources said that Tasneem Noorani had been demanding that “every single office of the party should be elected”. Noorani was of the view that the party should go for “genuine intra-party”, terming nomination of office bearers an undemocratic approach.
On the other hand, Imran Khan held the view that “only one seat of every tier should be elected and the rest of office bearers should be nominated”.
“The deadlock emerged three months ago and several efforts to address the issue failed,” a senior party official said, adding that a meeting between Noorani and Imran on Friday also did not yield any positive outcome.
It was because of the deadlock that the party had not been able to define organisational structure for the intra-party elections.
The PTI chief also devised a seven-member committee to come up with a plan but the committee had been delaying the crucial decision.
The PTI has appointed Senator Nouman Wazir as acting election commissioner for the polls.
Meanwhile, members of the central election commission as well as ECs of Punjab and Sindh have also stepped down from their positions over alleged difference with the party.
“The Chairman and the party have always respected the jurisdiction of the EC, and completely refrained from intervening in their domain,” a party statement said, adding that any interface with the EC was with the intent of strengthening the institution of the EC.
“It is unfortunate that the CEC and some members of the EC chose to resign before this meeting. The Chairman and the senior leadership appreciate the efforts put in by the CEC and his team,” it concluded.
