Didn’t misinterpret any decision, asserts ECP

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) made it clear on Friday that it did not misinterpret any decision, announcing that it would implement the Supreme Court (SC) decision on reserved seats for women and minorities.

According to a spokesman, the ECP held meetings for two days on the issue, and decided to implement the SC full court verdict on reserved seats. However, the Commission directed its legal team to point out, if any, the obstacles to implementation of the apex court judgement, so that more guideline could be sought from the top court.

Moreover, it was noted that the chief election commissioner (CEC) and members of the Election Commission were being criticised by a political party continuously. The Commission members rejected the uncalled for criticism. The members were of the opinion that demand for resignation from the Commission was ridiculous. The commission did not care about any kind of pressure and it would continue to work according to the Constitution and the law, the spokesman said.

The Commission said the PTI went to various forums against its decision of not giving it the electoral symbol ‘bat’, but its appeals were rejected and the ECP decision was upheld, as its intra-party elections were not found valid. And, as a logical consequence, the ‘bat’ symbol was withdrawn from the party under Section 215 of the Elections Act. Therefore, he added, blaming the Election Commission was very inappropriate.

Referring to the apex court verdict, the spokesman said 39 MNAs, who had been declared as the MNAs of the PTI, had shown their affiliation with the party in their nomination papers. However, it was necessary for the candidates to submit a party ticket and a declaration to the returning officers (ROs) concerned, which was not done. Therefore, it was not possible for the returning officers to declare them as the PTI candidates. “The other 41 candidates, who had been declared independent, had neither mentioned the PTI in their nomination papers nor did they disclose their affiliation with the party. They also did not submit any party ticket. Therefore, the returning officers allowed them to participate in elections as the independent candidates,” the ECP spokesman clarified. After winning the election, he noted, these MNAs voluntarily joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) within three days under the law. In the SC, the Sunni Ittehad Council appealed against the ECP decision and the Peshawar High Court verdict, but its appeal was rejected. The PTI was neither a party to the Election Commission proceedings nor it appeared before the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and the Supreme Court.