The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has submitted a review petition on Saturday to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) challenging the decision of its single-judge bench regarding the iconic electoral symbol of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the ‘bat’.
The high court issued its verdict on December 26 regarding PTI’s petition that contested the ECP’s decision, which had deemed the party’s internal polls “unlawful” and stripped it of using the ‘bat’ symbol.
While announcing the reserved verdict, the PHC suspended the ECP’s order and restored the party’s ‘bat’ symbol till a final decision on the petition. The court also stated that a double bench will hear the matter after winter vacations.
The ECP, in its plea, has urged the court to review the intra-party elections of the PTI and its determinations concerning the election symbol.
The Commission, in its plea, urged the court to schedule the petition for consideration by a division bench, emphasizing broader public interest. The commission asserted its responsibility to conduct elections with honesty, justice, and fairness in accordance with the law.
The petition read that Article 218(3) allows the electoral body to organise and conduct the elections, adding that the ECP is also responsible for making all necessary arrangements ahead of the polls.
“This court […] observed that election is a process which starts with the issuance of the election programme and consists of the various links and stages in that behalf as, filing of nomination papers, their scrutiny, the hearing of objections and the holding of actual polls. If any of these links is challenged it really (is) tantamount to challenging the said process of election,” it said.
Leave a Reply