ISLAMABAD: The Election Commi­ssion of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday took up for hearing yet another case pertaining to the PTI’s intra-party elections, but without sharing the details of the objections against it with the party.

When a five-member full bench of the ECP headed by Chief Election Commi­ssioner Sikandar Sultan Raja took up the matter, ECP Director Gene­ral (Political Finance) Masood Akhtar noted that PTI had conducted intra-party elections afresh after Supreme Court and ECP directives in this regard, but the objections to the polls needed to be clarified.

In response to this assertion, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan maintained they would respond to any objections raised by the political finance wing of the commission but informed the bench that details of the objections had not been shared with the party.

Subsequently, the ECP bench issued directions for the provision of details of the objections to the PTI and asked the party to submit its response to the same, and then adjourned the hearing.

Objections

Sources told Dawn that the objections regarding the appo­intment of party’s chief election commissioner and its general body meeting were later shared with the respondents.

Gohar says party not in talks with anyone, though dialogue can be held with ‘everyone’

The document shared with the PTI questions the status of the party, which has not conducted proper elections for five years, and has no organisational structure and poll symbol.

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It also asks as to why action under Section 208(5) of the Elections Act, 1997 should not be taken against the party.

Section 208(5) reads, “Where a political party fails to conduct intra-party elections as per given time frame in their constitution, a show-cause notice shall be issued to such political party and if the party fails to comply, then the Commission shall impose fine which may extend to Rs200,000 but shall not be less than Rs100,000.”

Talking to reporters outside the ECP office, the PTI chairman said the intra-party elections was conducted on March 3 and a notification to this effect was also issued the next day, yet they had not been issued a certificate.

He told the media that the party had already put this information on the social media. But the ECP simply sent a notice stating that there were objections to the intra-party elections, he said, adding that if the observations or objections were shared with the party, only then they would be able to reply to them duly.

Political temperature

He said there were as many as 175 political parties in Pakistan and none of them held intra-party elections as per constitution, “whereas we conducted intra-party elections in the light of the orders of the Election Commission and the Supreme Court”.

About Sunni Ittehad Council chairman Hamid Raza’s warning that party members would quit parliament if PTI founder chairman Imran Khan was not released from jail, the PTI chairman explained that Mr Raza had talked about “considering the option” of resignation.

About holding negotiations with the quarters concerned, the PTI chairman maintained that as far as dialogue was concerned, it should be held “with everyone”.

However, he claimed that currently his party was not holding talks with anyone. The party would share it with the media when it happened, he said, before reiterating the allegation that PTI’s mandate had been “stolen”.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2024