Islamabad [Pakistan], September 27 : The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has scheduled the hearing of the case regarding discrepancies in the intra-party elections of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on October 2, ARY News reported.
According to the Election Act of Pakistan, political parties must hold elections within a stipulated time frame in accordance with the party's constitution, failing which they stand to lose their electoral symbol.
PTI was scheduled to go for intra-party elections on or before June 13, 2021, but it cited the COVID pandemic as the reason for the delay in elections. This, however, has not been accepted by the ECP due to the lack of provisioning of a formal certificate regarding the same.
In its order passed on November 23, 2023, the ECP gave PTI a time period of 20 days to go for fresh elections. Anxious so as to retain its iconic symbol, 'bat', the Imran Khan-founded party went to elections on December 2, 2023, and took less than 10 days to implement the ECP decision, as reported by Ary News.
However, the December elections were challenged by Pakistani political leader Akbar S Babar before the ECP, citing 'discrepancies' in the process.
The Election Commission held that the elections did not adhere to the constitution of the party, and decided against PTI retaining the symbol.
The ruling drew criticism, with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan calling it an attempt to "destabilise democracy".
PTI said that the ECP's order was "deeply flawed and illegal" and called it "an assault on the integrity of the electoral process."
While the PTI has challenged the decision in both the Lahore High Court and the Peshawar High Court, the ECI continues to act on its decision to go forward with the hearing on October 2.
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