PTI’s chief election commissioner steps down

Intra-party elections

Commission’s member, two provincial poll body heads also resign over rift with Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Tasnim Noorani resigned along with a member and two provincial chief election commissioners over differences with Imran Khan over the mode of the party’s intra-party polls.

A statement issued by the party’s Media Centre said that their resignations had been accepted with regret. It was emphasised that it was not the election commission’s mandate to decide on the mode and mechanism of the electoral process.

It is pertinent to mention here that the first intra-party polls were followed by charges of rigging and other irregularities and now the second intra-party polls have also been hit by a crisis even before being held.

In a meeting with Imran Khan three days back, Tasnim Noorani expressed concern over the delay in deciding the mode of polls and also aired concerns over the proposal being floated which was not acceptable to him.

Insiders say that some very influential party leaders felt insecure in case the party polls are conducted for each office-bearer from top to the union council level. Imran was convinced that only the election of the party chairman and provincial presidents should be held and rest of the office-bearers should be nominated.

Those who stepped down weeks before the PTI intra-party election marking its foundation day on April 25, 2016, included Brig (retd) Samson Simon Sharaf, Punjab EC Ejaz Minhas and Sindh EC Feroz Khan.

Imran chaired a meeting of the party’s senior leadership at his Bani Gala residence to take stock of the development and appointed Election Commission Member from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senator Nauman Wazir as interim chief election commissioner. He is PTI’s parliamentary leader in the Senate.

A series of meetings between the PTI’s Election Commission and Imran and his team failed to iron out differences on how to conduct the intra-party elections. There had been whispers since long that instead of compromising on holding polls in a democratic way, Noorani would prefer to step down and today was that day.

He was in Lahore along with other members and reviewed preparations for the training of staffers, who would be engaged in the electoral exercise.

It was mainly the intra-party polls’ findings, which led to the bowing out of party tribunal chief Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmad some months back. The party had partially implemented the tribunal’s order, compelling Justice Wajih to call it a day as the tribunal head.