In a significant victory for the embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) nullified the ruling by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and returned the electoral symbol of ‘bat’ to the party.
On December 22, the electoral watchdog invalidated PTI’s internal elections, resulting in the withdrawal of the party’s iconic ‘cricket bat’ symbol. However, on December 26, the PHC, presided over by a single judge Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel, suspended the commission’s decision to nullify the PTI’s intra-party polls and revoke its ‘cricket bat’ symbol. The court in its order had directed the commission to publish the PTI’s certificate on its website and restore the electoral symbol of the party.
The ECP held a meeting following the PHC’s decision. The commission then decided to challenge the PHC decision through an intra-court appeal filed on December 30, 2023. A two-member bench, comprising Justice Ejaz Anwar and Justice Syed Arshad Ali, of the high court resumed the hearing on PTI’s intra-party election and election symbol case today with counsels representing the party and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in attendance.
In its verdict, the PHC today directed the ECP to upload PTI’s certificate of intra-party polls on its website. “The PTI is entitled to the ‘bat’ symbol should be given the same as its electoral symbol,” said the PHC ruling.
The petition was filed by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali and other party leaders requesting the court to declare the ECP order illegal and sans jurisdiction.
Advocate Javed stated that he also approached the ECP in this regard. Upon Justice Anwar’s inquiry on whether all members or just provincial representatives were elected in the polls, Javed remarked that the representatives of the entire country were elected.
The counsel maintained that if PTI is demanding a level playing field, then it should provide the same to its party workers as well. Justice Anwar remarked that if the intra-party election was against the constitution, ECP neither issued the party a show-cause notice nor any punishment and added that the election body only nullified PTI’s intra-party polls.
Nguồn bài viết : AG Trực Tuyến
