Omar Ayub calls for resignation of CEC Raja, other four ECP members

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan has hit out at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), insisting Article 6 should be invoked against the ones who misinterpreted the Constitution as the poll conducting authority denied the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of its iconic election symbol — bat.

Ayub's remarks come after the Supreme Court's full bench announced earlier today its reserved verdict with an 8-5 majority, allowing the PTI to have the seats reserved for women and minorities on the pleas of the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) which were earlier rejected by the poll conducting authority.

On March 4 this year, the election watchdog announced its reserved verdict, rejecting the Council's petition, seeking the allocation of reserved seats. Later, the Peshawar High Court was moved with the PTI-SIC requesting the allocation of reserved seats. However, it upheld the ECP ruling on March 14.

In today's ruling, the apex court nullified the PHC order.

"I congratulate the entire Pakistan on this auspicious day and the entire legal team," said Ayub — the PTI general-secretary — hailing the top court's ruling while addressing a press conference flanked by other party leaders, including the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz, party chairman Gohar Ali Khan and legal wizard Salman Akram Raja on Friday.

"The PTI founder had said that it is essential to have the supremacy of the law and the Constitution, ethics and justice in the state."

The NA's opposition leader stressed Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and four other members of the poll watchdog should resign from their offices immediately, saying the CEC and other ECP members divested the party of its election symbol.

With this move, they ended up interfering with the party's electioneering, he added.

Ayub continued, "The ECP wrongly interpreted the law and the Constitution in line with their vested interests," underlining the need that no one should dare to humiliate the public mandate.

Reacting to the PTI’s stance, Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Affairs, Rana Sanaullah said: “The PTI never claimed the reserved seats. If the Election Commission misinterpreted the ruling, the PTI could have interpreted it correctly. Even if the PTI has committed a mistake, the court must rectify it?”

He added that the Supreme Court ruling did not favour the SIC [Sunni Ittehad Council], as their petition was not accepted by the court.

“The new ruling identifies these independent members as part of the PTI. Verdicts should be transparent, understandable to the public, and further a sense of security, leading to national progress.”

Sanaullah, the former security czar, also said if courts' "verdicts are transparent, and understandable to the public", they further a sense of security that leads to national progress.

Meantime, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar also reacted to the apex court's verdict earlier today, saying the ruling posed no threat to the incumbent coalition government.

"We still have a majority of 209 members and the verdict has not been completed yet," the federal minister said, adding that he was not sure whether the government would file a review petition challenging the verdict as it was the prerogative of the federal cabinet, not a minister.