The Supreme Court of Pakistan has upheld its January 13 decision and dismissed a review petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) concerning its intra-party elections.
The ruling was made by a three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Musarrat Hilali.
During the hearing, the court noted that despite offering an additional opportunity, the legal representatives for the parties did not present any arguments that would warrant a change in the earlier decision.
"No error in our January 13 ruling has been demonstrated, so the review petition is dismissed," the court stated.
Barrister Ali Zafar, representing PTI, argued that a constitutional amendment had since been passed, suggesting the Supreme Court should no longer hear the case.
Chief Justice Isa responded, noting that he had not reviewed the amendment and had no information regarding it at the time.
The ruling marks the final closure of PTI's attempt to challenge the intra-party election process.
ECP holds PTI responsible for intra-party election delays
The Election Commission Pakistan has stated that the institution has been consistently showing flexibility regarding the holding of intra-party elections, and the delay is the responsibility of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
In a press release issued by the ECP, it was mentioned that PTI held its recent intra-party elections on March 3, 2024.
However, there were several flaws in these elections. Consequently, the ECP issued a notice on April 23, 2024.
The first hearing of this case took place on April 30, 2024. From April to October 2024, six hearings were held, but on five occasions, the party requested more time, leading to postponements.
Even in today’s hearing on October 2, 2024, the party asked for an adjournment.
The ECP has consistently shown flexibility in this matter and has given PTI several opportunities to fulfill its constitutional obligations.
However, the responsibility for this sluggishness and delay lies entirely with the concerned party.
The ECP is making every effort to resolve this issue legally. It has always demonstrated legal flexibility in the matter of PTI’s intra-party elections.
The party has repeatedly used delays, which is why this issue remains unresolved.
According to Sections 208 and 209 of the Election Act 2017, all political parties are required to hold intra-party elections within five years according to their party constitution.
PTI was supposed to hold its intra-party elections on June 13, 2021, but the elections were not held within the stipulated time.
The ECP issued several reminders to PTI and finally issued a show-cause notice on July 27, 2021.
In response to this notice, the party requested a one-year extension, citing the COVID-19 situation as a reason.
The ECP accepted this request and gave the party a deadline of June 13, 2022.
In June 2022, the party submitted documents for intra-party elections under Form 65, but these were incomplete.
Despite multiple reminders from the ECP requesting additional documents, the delay continued. The ECP held formal hearings on this matter.
Previously, Barrister Gohar emphasised that PTI had conducted one of the most transparent intra-party elections and called on the ECP to obtain related documents from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
He also criticised the ECP for allegedly singling out PTI while neglecting the actions of other political parties.
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