LHC reserves verdict on election symbols

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday reserved its decision on the maintainability of a petition challenging a legal provision that permits authorities to withdraw election symbols from political parties.

Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad heard the petition filed by Salma Bibi, who argued that Section 215(5) of the Election Act is inconsistent with the Constitution.

According to the petition, Article 17 of the Constitution guarantees the right to form political parties and to take part in elections. The plea contended that removing an election symbol from a political party effectively takes away its political identity.

The petitioner maintained that depriving a party of its symbol amounts to denying it meaningful participation in the electoral process. The plea further argued that the Election Commission of Pakistan does not have judicial powers to politically disqualify a party by withdrawing its symbol.

Salma Bibi asked the court to strike down the impugned provision, arguing that it is unconstitutional and should be declared null and void.

Maintainability question reserved

After hearing the initial arguments, Justice Arshad reserved the ruling on whether the petition is maintainable.

The case centres on the validity of Section 215(5) of the Election Act and the extent to which election symbols are tied to the constitutional rights of political parties. The petitioner’s position before the court was that the right to organise politically and contest elections, as protected under Article 17, is undermined if a party is stripped of the symbol through which it is identified in the electoral arena.

The petition also raised the question of whether the ECP can, through withdrawal of a symbol, effectively impose a political consequence on a party without judicial authority. On this basis, the petitioner requested the court to examine the provision’s compatibility with constitutional guarantees.

No ruling was issued on Wednesday, with the court limiting proceedings to the question of maintainability at this stage and reserving its verdict after hearing the preliminary submissions.