• Forms review committees after ECP extends deadline until April 26
• Insiders say around 20pc of tickets ‘disputed’; decision pending on 12 seats
• Parvez and Moonis Elahi, all 10 former PML-Q MPAs accommodated

LAHORE: A day after the party awarded tickets to candidates for elections to the Punjab Assembly, PTI chief Imran Khan announced that he would be reviewing the complaints of those who had missed out.

But even before the party chief began the review process, supporters of some aspirants had already begun protests, seeking a review of the decision to award tickets for their constituencies.

“I will begin the tickets review process from tomorrow till 26th of cases sent to me by the four Reconciliation Committees that were formed for this purpose,” Mr Khan tweeted on Friday.

The announcement by the PTI chief came after the Election Commission of Pakistan extended the date for submission of party tickets until April 26. Earlier, ECP had set April 20 as the final day for submission of tickets.

According to party sources, over 80 per cent of tickets have been handed over to deserving candidates and there are disputes on around 20pc of seats.

“The contentions are among the candidates who had submitted nomination papers for respective constituencies thinking they were better suited to represent their areas,” the source said, adding that in some constituencies, up to 10 candidates had submitted nomination papers in hopes of getting a ticket.

For 297 constituencies, the party received some 1,500 applications and tickets have been awarded by the PTI chairman to 285 candidates, the source told Dawn.

A decision on 12 seats — PP-57, PP-61, PP-124, PP-162, PP-177, PP-204, PP-221, PP-234, PP-244, PP-251, PP-253 and PP-272 — is still pending.

Following the award of tickets, the PTI constituted four reconciliation committees to recommend an adjustment in the list of candidates, the source said.

The committees have now been converted into “review committees” to hear the candidates’ grievances and forward their recommendations to Mr Khan.

The North Punjab review committee is headed by retired Brig Musadiq Abbasi, Central Punjab by Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, West Punjab by Hassan Nawaz and South Punjab by Aon Abbas Bappi.

“There would have been no complaints or rifts if the ECP had not extended the date for submission of nomination papers,” the source said. “Now, with the date extended, the review committees will engage the complainants until April 26.”

The source added that in case of any change in the earlier awards, the candidates who received the tickets and submitted them before the ECP ahead of the previous date would have to hand them over to the new candidates.

When contacted, Central Punjab review committee head Senator Ejaz Chaudhry said there were individual complaints as those who were denied the tickets agitated, claiming that they were stronger candidates than those who were awarded the tickets.

However, he denied the influence of any pressure groups or lobby vying for tickets.

Exceptions and surprises

Mr Khan has been saying for months that he would personally interview each aspirant and only choose the strongest one to be the PTI’s candidate. However, the final list issued after the extensive interview process had several notable exceptions – such as Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry and Hammad Azhar – which didn’t go unnoticed.

With these heavyweights out of the race, the chief minister’s seat, at this stage, apparently has only two hopefuls — newly-inducted PTI president Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and Usman Buzdar.

Mr Khan’s former chief of staff Shahbaz Gill, who was allegedly tortured during custody, was also denied a ticket.

Fawad Chaudhry recently expressed his reservations about not being considered for the provincial assembly, adding that the chief minister’s slot was attractive if one was interested in bringing about a change.

He added that he couldn’t do anything, as the decision was taken by Mr Khan himself.

Hammad Azhar said the PTI chairman had informed him that his services will be needed in the federal government and this was the reason he withdrew his nomination papers for the provincial assembly seat.

Former Punjab minister Murad Raas has also been denied a ticket. Though Mr Raas didn’t say anything publicly, party insiders claim Mr Khan was not happy with his performance as the minister.

They also claimed that Mr Raas was not seen in the field when party leaders and workers were facing the wrath of the state authorities.

Former Punjab minister for higher education Raja Yasir Humayun had also not been considered for the ticket. Mr Humayun, however, said he has always been vying for the National Assembly ticket.

Additionally, as per his commitment to Mr Elahi, who recently merged his faction of the PML-Q with the PTI, Mr Khan has fully facilitated ex-PML-Q leaders who tagged along with Mr Elahi and his son Moonis Elahi.

All 10 former MPAs, who were part of the PML-Q, have been awarded tickets and two women MPAs —Baasima Chaudhry and Khadija Umar — have been placed on the list for reserved seats.

Mr Khan has also awarded the ticket to Moonis Elahi from PP-32 (Gujrat-V).

The PTI chief’s decision to award a ticket to Mehr Abdul Sattar from PP-186 (Okara-IV) was widely welcomed. Mr Sattar was a leader of the Anjuman-i-Mizareen and had been fighting for the rights of tenants of Military Farms in Okara.

Former Punjab health minister and PTI Central Punjab president Dr Yasmin Rashid has been given a ticket from PP-173, Lahore, where she will face-off against PML-N chief organiser Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who had submitted her nomination papers.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2023