Legal quagmire of PTI party polls deepens

ECP raises questions also about party’s March 3 intra-party elections

ISLAMABAD:

The PTI’s electoral issue has become a tangled mess, and it may need to re-register with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as a political party, as the polls oversight authority has started to raise questions about its last intra-party elections.

On December 22, 2023, the ECP stripped the PTI of its election symbol due to irregularities in its intra-party elections held on December 2. The Supreme Court later upheld the ECP order, forcing the party to field its candidates as independents in the February 8 general elections.

After the general elections, the party once again conducted its intra-party elections on March 3. The party now demands that the ECP issue its notification. However, the ECP has once again raised objections to the new party polls and asked the former ruling party to submit its reply in writing.

Sources indicate that the ECP has asked PTI Secretary of Information Raoof Hasan who appointed him as the party's chief election commissioner for the polls. The PTI claims that during a general body meeting, Omar Ayub was appointed as the chief organizer while Hasan was appointed the chief election commissioner.

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According to the PTI’s by-laws, the party’s chief organizer is appointed by the party chairman. As the party had no chairman after being stripped of its election symbol, the appointment of the chief organizer is also invalid, and legally, the appointment of the chief election commissioner is also invalid.

Sources suggest that due to this legal glitch, a question mark has been placed on the validity of the party’s second intra-party polls as well.

If the ECP declares that the PTI’s intra-party elections are correct, then questions will arise as to whether the Supreme Court's decision was incorrect. Interestingly, the Supreme Court had only upheld the ECP's decision.

The source suggests that the PTI's issue has now become legally entangled in a deadlock. It seems that the PTI will have to dissolve itself in this situation and register itself again as a new party.