- Barrister Ali Zafar says ECP’s identity as an electoral watchdog is at risk
ISLAMABAD: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja said on Tuesday that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) intra-party elections were ‘invalid’ in the opinion of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
A hearing pertaining to petitions challenging the PTI’s intra-party elections took place at the ECP office, where PTI founding member and petitioner Akbar S Babar was also present.
During the proceedings, PTI lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar contended that, despite objections to the ECP’s directive for intra-party elections, Pakistan’s “largest political party” must not be excluded from the elections.
He emphasised that the ECP was supposed to certify the party’s elections within a week. As seven days have elapsed today, the election commission is obligated to issue the certificate promptly, he said.
Zafar argued that the election commission cannot treat the matter like a court case, arguing that the ECP’s identity as an electoral watchdog was at risk here. He referred to the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision from a day earlier, restraining the ECP from issuing an order in the case till the hearing of the application filed with it had concluded.
Raja countered that it was within the election commission’s jurisdiction to handle this case, urging the PTI lawyer to not hold the ECP accountable for mistakes his party committed. “For five years the PTI could not hold intra-party elections. The elections it eventually did hold are invalid in our opinion,” the CEC maintained. “Despite everything, the ECP granted PTI an opportunity to conduct intra-party elections,” he added.
ECP’s DG Law pointed out that the Islamabad High Court, in the MQM intra-party election case, designated intra-party elections as the election commission’s jurisdiction. Failure to conduct intra-party action by a political party is subject to action under the Election Act, he said.
The election commission adjourned the hearing until December 14, instructing all petitioners to submit their replies at the next hearing.
ECP orders intra-party elections
Previously, on November 23, the ECP ordered the PTI to hold intra-party elections if it wished to retain “bat” as its election symbol, warning that any deviation would render it ineligible to obtain any other election symbol for the upcoming general elections.
However, the PTI’s recently-held intra-party elections were thrust into uncertainty after the ECP issued the party a notice on a plea seeking to have the polls declared null and void.
A five-member bench, presided over by the chief election commissioner, held a preliminary hearing on 14 applications, seeking nullification of PTI’s intra-party elections.
A day earlier, the PHC restrained the ECP from issuing a final verdict on a plea challenging the PTI intra-party polls.
Barrister Gohar asserted that the PTI represented 70 per cent of the people but still its intra-party certificate was not published which was a “legal requirement”.
He requested the PHC to order the ECP to issue the certificate so that the party’s polls could get constitutional protection.
He feared that if the PTI intra-party polls were declared null and void, the election supervisor would announce the general polls schedule very next day.
After the preliminary hearing, the PHC restrained the ECP form issuing a final verdict on the petition challenging the PTI intra-party polls.
The court adjourned the hearing on PTI’s plea till December 19.
Meanwhile, the PTI core committee in a statement, demanded of the ECP to allot the symbol of bat “immediately” for the upcoming general elections that are scheduled to be held on February 8.
