Gohar says PTI to challenge ECP decision in SC and PHC

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said on Saturday that the party was “deeply upset” over the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to nullify the PTI’s intra-party polls and taking away the party’s official symbol.

He said the PTI will approach the Supreme Court (SC) as well as the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to challenge the electoral watchdog’s decision.

Gohoar said the, “Election Commission’s decision is very weak,” adding that the matter was urgent for which the PTI “will go to courts”.

Regarding the upcoming general elections in February, 2024, he said that the party has instructed its candidates to submit their nomination papers to contest in the general elections.

It should be noted that yesterday the electoral watchdog nullified the intra-party elections of the former ruling party, taking back the party’s famous “cricket bat” symbol.

A five-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja declared the PTI intra-party elections ‘null and void’.

On November 22, the ECP ordered the 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.

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On December 2, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was elected unopposed in the intra-party elections instructed by the ECP. The PTI leader was nominated for the position of chairman by the founder of PTI, Imran Khan himself.

However, on December 5, as soon as the PTI submitted the report of its intra-party polls to the ECP, the results were challenged.

After a resident of Islamabad Raja Tahir Nawaz challenged the results, PTI founding member Akbar S Babar, who later developed differences with its leadership, also followed suit.

In a letter to CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja, he requested that the PTI should not be allowed to use the ‘cricket bat’ as its electoral symbol until it held transparent intra-party polls.

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He also asked the commission to appoint an independent third-party monitor to conduct the PTI’s fresh intra-party polls.

By December 8, at least 14 applications had been filed with the electoral watchdog against the intra-party polls. The ECP issued notice to the party while hearing the plea.

The ECP’s yesterday’s decision nullifying the polls came on these applications.