ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan will take up the PTI’s intra-party election case tomorrow (Wednesday), a move that comes four days after the Supreme Court reprimanded the ECP for failing to implement the top court’s July 12 ruling, which declared Imran Khan’s party eligible for reserved seats in the National and provincial assemblies.

The ECP’s decision also comes amid the government’s inability to secure support for controversial constitutional amendments that will reportedly affect judicial authority.

The Supreme Court’s last week clarification was in response to an ECP petition filed on Aug 7, seeking a review of the July 12 judgement. The ECP argued that the court had mistakenly granted PTI relief, as neither the party nor its candidates had approached the ECP, Peshawar High Court or the Supreme Court to claim reserved seats for women and non-Muslims.

“The clarification sought by the ECP was nothing more than a contrived device and the adoption of dilatory tactics, adopted to delay, defeat and obstruct implementation of the decision of the Supreme Court. This cannot be countenanced,” the Supreme Court had made it clear.

Official says remaining PTI lawmakers to be notified soon, as per apex court order

A senior ECP official indicated that remaining PTI lawmakers will be notified as per the Supreme Court’s judgement on Wednesday.

However, the official noted that under the recently passed Elec­tion (Second Amendment) Bill 2024, independent candidates are barred from joining political parties after a set period, and parties are prohibited from submitting priority lists for reserved seats beyond the stipulated timeline.

He said the matter was thoroughly discussed on Monday and the ECP’s law wing had sought some time to give its opinion. However, he stressed that the commission would have to implement the court’s decision, “regardless of what the law says”.

During the last intra-party election case hearing on Sept 6, the ECP rejected PTI’s fresh applications challenging the commission’s jurisdiction over the party’s elections.

The PTI had requested that the ECP instruct the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to return documents seized during a raid on the party’s secretariat. It also sought a postponement of the intra-party election case until the Supreme Court issued a detailed judgement in the reserved seats matter.

In a 10-page order authored by ECP’s member in Sindh, Nisar Ahmed Durrani, the commission rejected all four pleas filed by the PTI, asserting that it had the powers to regulate intra-party polls and emphasising that the matter was lingering on and could not be delayed anymore.

Intra-party elections in the country are often seen as symbolic, with the ECP typically accepting certificates from political parties attesting to their completion. However, the commission has repeatedly rejected PTI’s internal elections since June 2022.

Meanwhile, the ECP will also hear the intra-party election case of the JUI-F on Wednesday.

In late August, the party re­­q­­uested an extension to complete its intra-party elections, following the expiry of its office-bearers’ terms on July 7 this year. The party informed the ECP that phased elections were already underway in provincial chapters and would proceed at the central level thereafter.

“We will seek a compliance report and proceed accordingly,” an ECP official told Dawn.

Holding intra-party elections is a legal requirement under Section 208(1) of the Elections Act 2017, which mandates that office-bearers of political parties must be elected every five years at the federal, provincial and local levels.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2024