Lahore High Court’s (LHC) division bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi sought replies from concerned authorities by Thursday on a plea filed by contestant Advocate Salman Akram Raja seeking direction to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to recognise him as PTI’s candidate on ballot paper rather than an independent candidate.
Petitioner Salman Akram Raja filed this plea through Barrister Sameer Khosa with further request to pass a direction to ECP officials and Returning Officer to issue him a revised Form 33 recognising petitioner as a candidate of PTI.
Petitioner Akram Raja contended in his plea that treating him as independent candidate instated of as the candidate of his political party is a clear violation of the petitioner’s freedom of association guaranteed under Article 17 of the Constitution.
The petitioner’s right to form and be a member of a political party is rendered illusory and meaningless if the petitioner is deprived of contesting elections from the platform of that political party and identified as such.
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It may be mentioned that the PTI the petitioner’s political party, continues to exist as a lawfully registered political party in the country.
Therefore, there is no reason whatsoever for the petitioner not to be identified as a candidate of his political party.
The treatment of the petitioner as independent candidate by the RO, ECP is clearly unconstitutional and unlawful.
The essence of Article 17 (2) of the Constitution as a whole does not only guarantee the right to form or be a member of a political party but also to operate as a political party.
The words “right to form” are not only confined to its formation but to its function as a political party. By treating the petitioner and other similarly placed candidates as independent candidates, the Respondents are bent upon depriving the petitioner the identity of a political party.
Such a course of action is clearly ultra vires Article 17 (2) of the Constitution and is therefore liable to be interfered with by this court.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2024.
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