Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) has been directed by the Election Commission of Pakistan to conduct intra-party elections within 20 days, if it wants to maintain the validity of its electoral symbol “cricket bat”.
In these circumstances, when the party’s chairman and central leadership is in jail, it would be really hard for the party to conduct intra-party elections again. On the other hand, PTI has announced its intention to challenge the decision to declare intra-party elections null and void by the Election Commission, terming it ‘biased’ and taking the matter to court.
PTI’s intra-party elections were supposed to take place by June 13, 2021, which did not happen. Subsequently, in August of the same year, the Election Commission of Pakistan granted the political party a one-year extension.
However, PTI’s stance was that the party elections had taken place before amendments to its constitution, while the Election Commission claimed that PTI had amended its constitution on June 8 of the previous year and conducted intra-party elections two days later on June 10, 2022.
Later, a copy of the amended constitution from PTI was submitted to the Election Commission, which the commission deemed insufficient.
The Election Commission issued a reserved decision regarding PTI’s intra-party elections on September 13, declaring them null and void and ordering a re-election within 20 days.
One of the former Secretaries of the Election Commission told the media that the decision of the Election Commission regarding PTI’s intra-party elections will not make a difference because similar nominations occur in the intra-party elections of all other parties as well. Elections are approaching, and if the matter goes to court, a new Pandora’s box may be opened.
The legal experts said that, similarly, the decision of ECP can be challenged in the court, but the court will give its verdict after going through the party constitution. They were of the view that PTI needs to conduct elections again according to its party constitution. The Election Commission has given 20 days due to the upcoming general election. If PTI will appeal in the court on the plea that other political parties also do not fulfill constitutional requirements as they also nominate candidates, then, it can further delay the elections.
They said that Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi can legally contest elections despite being in jail because they have not been sentenced by any court, so they have not been disqualified for any election. The sentence imposed on Imran Khan has been declared null and void.
The law said that as far as PTI’s registration is valid, ECP cannot allocate the symbol of ”bat” to any other political party
The spokesperson of PTI termed the decision of the Election Commission as biased. He said that despite assurances from the Chief Election Commissioner to protect constitutional rights, the decision is contrary to that.
The Election Commission should ask all the parties to hold fresh intra party elections because demanding it from one peculiar party would raise the questions on the impartiality of the ECP and that would degrade the credibility of the elections too.