ECP makes it a case of SC vs SC

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan’s letter to the apex court, seeking the latter’s guidance on the implementation of SC’s recent order in SIC reserved seats case, has effectively put the Supreme Court at odds with itself.

Before the Feb 8 elections, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, had revoked the PTI’s election symbol “bat” because of invalid PTI intra-party elections.

Although, the ECP in its letter written to the SC on Thursday did not mention the Supreme Court’s earlier order that had revoked the PTI’s election symbol, the commission’s argument about the non-existence of organisational structure of PTI gets strength from the same order.

Referring to the latest SC’s majority judgment authored by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah in the SIC reserved seats case, the ECP actually conveys to the apex court that it does not recognise the PTI’s organisational structure in the absence of which it finds it difficult to entertain certification by any individual that any number of independent MNAs and MPAs have joined the PTI or they belong to the PTI.

Since the ECP has not yet accepted the PTI’s intra-party elections, therefore, it does not recognise any organisational structure of the party. Citing this very reason, now the ECP says it is finding difficulty in implementing the SC’s recent order in the SIC reserved seats case handed down by a majority of eight SC judges, led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.

The SC has now been approached by the ECP for guidance of following two matters: i) In absence of valid organisational structure of the PTI, who will confirm on behalf of the PTI political affiliation of MNAs and MPAs who have filed their statements in the light of the recent SC order. ii) Guidance is also solicited of the legal consequences of confirmation of statements of MNAs/MPAs by an unauthorised person on behalf of PTI in the absence of its organisational structure.

For a valid organisation structure of any political party, the ECP needs to certify the legality of its intra-party elections. The PTI has not yet got its intra-party elections certified by the commission. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s judgment expects from the ECP to notify 80 MNAs, who were elected as independents and had later joined SIC, as PTI MNAs.

However, in the presence of CJ Qazi Faez Isa order in the PTI intra-party election case, the question raised by the ECP about the absence of organisational structure of the PTI cannot be easily ignored.

The recent SC decision of eight judges led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah revives the PTI as a political party in the national and provincial assemblies.