ECP gives PTI 20-day ultimatum to hold intra-party polls

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday ordered the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to hold intra-party elections within the next 20 days to retain “bat” as its election symbol, warning that any deviation would render it ineligible to obtain any other election symbol for the upcoming general elections.

With the ECP’s decision, the PTI is in a catch-22 situation as any deviation can cost it to lose its grip on the bat, which once manifested PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s populist convictions of good governance as well as showed his commitment to forcefully eradicate corruption within 90 days, among other things.

Though the PTI has announced to challenge the decision before the relevant forum, fears are being expressed that one wrong move can make the PTI ineligible to contest the next general elections slated to be held on Feb 8, 2024.

Also, the ECP’s decision has once again triggered the debate of minus Imran, who is already in jail facing several cases. However, the PTI has vowed that no such plan would materialise. According to the ECP, the four-year tenure of the PTI office bearers completed on June 13, 2021 and the commission had directed the PTI to hold intra-party elections in accordance with its then prevailing Constitution 2019.

It added that on the PTI’s request and on account of Covid-19 pandemic, the party had been granted one year non-extendable period for holding of intra-party elections. However, the ECP noted that the party amended its constitution, took contradictory stance before the commission, submitted unattested, unauthentic, and incomplete documents regarding intra-party polls, which the electoral body said couldn’t be accepted.

Read ‘Minus-Imran formula’ unacceptable, ECP told

On Thursday, through a much-awaited judgment, the ECP’s four-member bench ruled that the PTI failed to hold transparent, just, and fair intra-party election in accordance with its prevailing constitution of 2019, which the ECP said is highly disputed and objectionable and can’t be accepted at all.

“It is held that respondent party has failed to hold its intra-party elections within the extended period of one year, till 13-06-2022,” the ECP order read. Instead of taking the final step to invoke the provision of Section 215(5) of the Election Act, 2017, it added: “A lenient view is taken with direction to the respondent party to hold its intra-party election strictly in accordance with the prevailing party constitution, within 20 days positively.”

The commission has also directed the PTI to submit intra-party election results along with all the required documents, including Form 65, within seven days before the ECP. In case, it added, the PTI fails to hold polls and comply with the directions within stipulated time, which starts from Nov 23, the PTI will suffer the penal consequences of Section 215(5) of ECP act and “would be ineligible to obtain an election symbol for election to Majlis-e-Shoora (parliament) etc”.

Section 215(5) states: “If a political party or parties to whom show-cause notice has been issued under sub-section (4) fails to comply with the provision of Section 209 or Section 210, the Commission may after affording it or them an opportunity of being heard, declare it or them ineligible to obtain an election symbol for election to Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), Provincial Assembly or a local government, and the Commission shall not allocate an election symbol to such political party or combination of political parties in subsequent elections.”

Reacting to the order, the PTI spokesperson termed ECP’s decision “biased” and “unjust”, and announced challenging it before the relevant forums, saying the decision once again exposed state conspiracy to keep the PTI and Imran Khan out of elections.
The PTI spokesperson vowed that the dream of the opponents to minus Imran and deprive the PTI of the bat symbol in the polls won’t materialise, saying the ECP’s decision is “extremely upsetting and biased”.

Terming it a biased but expected decision, the PTI official said that the electoral watchdog did not meet the requirements of justice and the verdict had unduly been delayed seemingly for a special purpose. “The ECP’s verdict declaring the PTI’s intra-party polls null and void clearly reflected the institution's continuous biased behaviour towards the country’s most popular political party,” he said. “The electoral body’s decision once again exposed the state conspiracy to keep the PTI, especially Chairman Imran Khan, out of the elections.”

Read more ECP announces verdict on PTI intra-party polls today

However, he made it clear that the PTI would exercise all constitutional, legal, and political channels to set aside the “biased decision” after reviewing it in detail. The party said that ‘bat’ was, is, and would remain the electoral symbol of the PTI, saying no one can deprive the party of its electoral symbol.

Similarly, it made it clear that Imran was, is, and will remain the PTI chairman for life and “no one can minus him come what may”.
“The dream of opponents to minus Imran Khan or take back the ‘bat’ symbol from the PTI would never turn into a reality,” he said, adding that the PTI Core Committee would decide the future course of action regarding the intra-party elections in light of the instructions of party Chairman Imran Khan.

In an official statement, the party maintained that the ECP’s notice did not mention anything that the intra-party elections were not held according to the PTI’s constitution rather it was about the polls’ documentation being incomplete. The spokesperson went on to say that the electoral body delayed the decision on intra-party polls for a specific purpose despite repeated requests, adding that in two meetings with the chief election commissioner, the PTI was held out assurance of protecting its constitutional rights, “but shockingly the decision proved otherwise”.

Though the PTI has decided to challenge the ECP’s decision, it is not yet clear if the party is in a position to hold intra-party elections within the stipulated time, especially, after the mass exodus and its party chairman being in jail.
The official statement is also silent if the PTI is simultaneously preparing to hold intra-party elections and challenging the ECP’s decision before superior courts.