PTI's Barrister Gohar confident of ‘clean sweep’ in Islamabad municipal elections

Party chairman urges candidates to submit their nomination papers in 'large numbers' for the municipal polls.

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ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan has announced that the party will participate in the upcoming municipal elections in Islamabad and is confident of a "clean sweep".

Speaking to the media outside the Election Commission Pakistan (ECP) on Monday, Gohar urged the party’s candidates to submit their nomination papers in large numbers for the municipal elections.

He expressed confidence that PTI would secure a sweeping victory.

Commenting on a recent SC decision regarding four constituencies, Gohar expressed disappointment, saying, "Unfortunately, our concerns were not heard. Our valid votes were rejected, and there was no previous request for a recount in NA-79. We hope the Election Commission will address our concerns."

Last week on August 13, the top court set aside by a majority vote a Lahore High Court (LHC) order, allowing a recount of votes at three National Assembly and one Punjab Assembly constituencies as sought by the ruling PML-N's runner-up candidates.

Runner-up candidates from the PML-N filed requests with the ECP for a recount of votes, applications that the ECP later approved.

The PTI-backed candidates challenged this decision in the LHC, which accepted the writ petitions of the returned candidates and annulled the ECP's decision.

This LHC ruling was then challenged in the Supreme Court whose three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJ) Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi heard the matter.

The PTI chairman also criticised the recent relief in electricity prices in Punjab, calling it "insufficient."

He argued, "Electricity prices should be reduced for everyone, not just for a couple of months, but on a permanent basis".

"The current relief is being provided by diverting funds from development projects, which is not lowering electricity prices in the long run."