ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Thursday directed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to hold intra-party elections in a transparent manner within 20 days and submit reports to the commission.
The directions came as the electoral watchdog announced its verdict on PTI’s intra-party elections case. The verdict will decide whether the party is eligible to obtain ‘Bat’ as an election symbol for the upcoming general elections slated to be held on February 8 next year.
The ECP had reserved the decision on the subject on September 13 after the PTI lawyer submitted his reply following the issuance of a show-cause notice to the party. A four-member ECP bench led by Nisar Durrani heard the case. The electoral body believed that the previous intra-party elections were not transparent.
The issue of party’s intra-party polls has been pending before the watchdog since 2022. The ECP requires political parties to hold intra-party elections before every five years, and the parties can hold the intra-party elections in three or four years as enshrined in their respective constitutions.
In August, PTI chief did not appear before the ECP despite having been served a final notice over the party’s ‘failure’ to hold intra-party elections. The electoral watchdog had summoned the PTI chairman, warning him that if he failed to appear before the commission, the ECP might – under Section 215 (5) of the Elections Act, 2017 – declare his party ineligible to obtain an election symbol for future elections.
Referring to Section 209(1) of the Elections Act, the electoral watchdog pointed out that every registered political party is bound to provide the commission with a certificate about the holding of its intra-party elections. The party’s intra-party elections were scheduled to be held on June 13, 2021 under the party’s constitution.
In May 2022, the ECP issued a show-cause notice to Imran Khan for his failure to hold intra-party elections in his capacity as chairman. The ECP extended the date at the request of the PTI, allowing it to conduct the intra-party elections by June 13, 2022. However, the former ruling party failed to hold its intra-party elections even by the new date.
