Intra-party polls case: ECP reserves decision on PTI’s plea to stay hearing

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday reserved its decision on the PTI’s request to stay the hearing in the intra-party polls until a clarification from the Supreme Court with regard to the reserved seats is received. A three-member bench of the commission, headed by the chief election commissioner, heard the case.

PTI’s Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Ayesha Khalid Advocate and Uzair Bhandari Advocate appeared before the forum.

Bhandari said the FIA had seized the entire record during the raid. He said four applications had been filed, as they did not have original documents and electronic record. “You have seen the video; they also took away our water dispenser. However, if the EC directs, the record can be obtained from the FIA,” argued Gohar.

Bhandari argued that the Election Commission had sent them a questionnaire and the first question asked was about the PTI’s current status. He said the answer to the question came in the short order of the Supreme Court related to the reserved seats. He urged that the detailed decision of the apex court should be awaited, while the Election Commission had asked the Supreme Court for an explanation on the reserved seats.

To this, the commission’s member from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said, “We have not made any request to the Supreme Court on the PTI’s new intra-party elections; we have rather asked whose party certificates should be recognized until the intra-party elections are recognized”.

Gohar explained that he had issued certificates to 39 members whom the ECP had recognized as PTI’s. “We did not accept the certificates but acted on the apex court order,” the ECP member contended. The lawyer emphasized that the Supreme Court verdict was in front of the Election Commission and it could not decide whether the intra-party elections of a political party were valid or not. The Member Commission Sindh asked, “What do you want now?” The lawyer replied that they wanted the Election Commission not to hear the case till a clarification or detailed decision from the Supreme Court on the reserved seats.

The PTI also challenged the Election Commission’s jurisdiction in the intra-party elections, as its lawyer Bhandari said the scrutiny of intra-party elections did not come under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission. He said the Election Commission could only see whether the intra-party elections were held or not and asked the commission to first decide its jurisdiction.

DG Law maintained that the Supreme Court in its short order said that the party certificates of only 41 independent members should be submitted and that no specific party was mentioned. He further said an independent member could join any political party.

Later, speaking to the media outside the Election Commission, Barrister Gohar said they had submitted documents to the Election Commission on March 8 after the third intra-party election, but to-date they had not received a certificate.

Gohar said PTI was a political party and people supported the ideology of its founder Imran Khan. “We don’t need any symbol. We will make a clean sweep by participating fully in the local government elections of Islamabad, whereas the government is trying to postpone the elections,” he contended.