ECP delists two PTI cases

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan delisted two cases related to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday, including the one relating to its annual statement of accounts for the year 2023-24.

In a notice, the Election Commission postponed the hearing of the cases due to the bench’s unavailability. These cases to be delisted were to be heard in the Election Commission today (Wednesday). The other case of PTI is related to its intra-party elections. The party Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and then chief election commissioner Raoof Hasan were to submit related documents to the forum.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has announced a comprehensive framework for gender inclusion in the country’s electoral system. The “Gender Main Streamlining and Social Inclusion Framework” (GMSIF) will be implemented from 2024 to 2028, a statement issued by the commission says.

Secretary of Election Commission Omar Hameed Khan said that this framework was the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region that focuses on full gender and social inclusion in the electoral process. Additional Director General Gender Wing Nighat Siddique explained that the main objective of this project was to make the electoral process more inclusive and accessible for women, minorities, persons with disabilities and transgender people.

The framework includes measures for reviewing and amending electoral laws, policies and practices. For this, extensive consultations have been held with academia, the Parliament, the Election Commission staff and organizations related to women’s political rights. It is worth noting that women constitute 46pc of the total voters in Pakistan. The Election Commission aims to strengthen the principles of gender and social inclusion in its administrative structure. Shabbir Ahmed, Country Director, IFES, congratulated the Election Commission on this important step.