PESHAWAR – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday decided to challenge the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to withdraw the party’s electoral symbol, the bat.
The PTI’s legal team arrived at the Peshawar High Court on Saturday to file a case.
The sources said that the PTI did not receive yet the verified written order from the ECP.
The party expressed its intention to contest the ECP’s decision once it receives the verified decision. Even in the absence of the verified copy, PTI planned to move the court against the decision, although the court may raise objections to the non-submission of the verified ECP decision with the appeal.
The ECP in its verdict held that PTI had not conducted its intra-party elections in accordance with its constitution, the Election Act of 2017, and the Election Rules of 2017, making it ineligible to retain the election symbol of the ‘bat.’
A five-member bench of the ECP head by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja passed the order. Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Muhammad Jatoi, Babar Hassan Bharwana, and Justice (r) Ikramullah Khan were the other members of the bench.
The ECP’s decision came after the Peshawar High Court directed the electoral watchdog to decide on petitions challenging PTI’s intra-party elections in compliance with the law.
The ECP’s ruling highlighted PTI’s non-compliance with its directions and failure to conduct intra-party elections according to the party’s prevailing Constitution of 2019, the Election Act of 2017, and the Election Rules of 2017.
As a result, a certificate moved to the ECP on December 4, 2023, and Form-65 filed by the party leadership were turned down. The ECP invoked Section 215 of the Election Act of 2017, declaring PTI ineligible to obtain the election symbol for which they had applied.
The ECP verdict rendered Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, the new chairman, no longer eligible to hold the position of PTI chairman.
