|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced that it will withhold its decision on the petitions challenging the recently concluded intra-party elections of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as revealed on Monday.
In the intra-party polls conducted in December on the directives of the electoral body, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan emerged as the new chairman of the party, a nomination put forth by Imran Khan, PTI’s founding chairman, currently incarcerated in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail.
During the hearing, PTI counsel Barrister Ali Zafar argued that the chairman’s tenure is five years, while the panel’s duration is three years. Consequently, he contended that intra-party elections are unnecessary when the chairman is elected unopposed.
An ECP member countered, stating that the law mandates holding polls in accordance with established regulations, although party constitutions lack clarity on intra-party poll procedures. Zafar cited a previous ECP verdict from February 22, asserting that non-party members cannot participate in party elections.
Zafar denied claims of secret polls, emphasizing that the election schedule was prominently displayed outside all PTI offices, with over 0.83 million eligible voters. He asserted that, except for Akbar S Babar, who submitted fees, none of the concerned individuals had party membership.
According to Zafar, none of the petitioners filed nomination papers, challenging their eligibility to contest PTI’s intra-party polls. He questioned the ECP on the party’s alleged violation of the Election Act, stating that no violation occurred.
Zafar clarified that Babar’s plea was for all parties to conduct fresh intra-party polls and urged the ECP to dismiss all petitions against PTI’s intra-party elections.
Subsequently, counsels of other petitioners presented their arguments, leading to the ECP reserving its verdict on the contentious issue.
Akbar S Babar, a founding member of PTI who later parted ways with its leadership, raised concerns about the party’s intra-party polls. In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, he requested the PTI refrain from using the ‘cricket bat’ as its electoral symbol until transparent intra-party polls were conducted.
Babar urged the commission to appoint an independent third-party monitor for the PTI’s fresh intra-party polls, branding the previous process as mere “pretence and deception.” Babar contended that the PTI failed to disclose the rules, regulations, schedule, and procedure of the intra-party polls, depriving members of their right to vote.
The PTI Chief Election Commissioner, Niazullah Niazi, submitted the intra-party election results to the ECP for both central and provincial organizations.
Read More: https://dusknews.com/category/politics/