ECP fixes PTI intra-party election case for hearing

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has scheduled a hearing on October 2 for the case of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) intra-party elections.

The notice was issued following a petition filed by Akbar S. Babar.

The ECP has directed Akbar S. Babar to appear either in person or through legal representation at the hearing.

Babar had filed the petition challenging the intra-party elections held by PTI on March 3.

The PTI held intra-party elections on June 9, 2022, which were voided by the ECP in November 2023 after dragging the case for around one-and-a-half years. Non-availability of bench was cited as a reason behind the delay.

In its order passed on Nov 23, 2023, the ECP gave the former ruling party 20 days to go for fresh elections if it did not want to lose its electoral symbol — ‘bat’. The order came around two months before the Feb 8 elections when political parties had already started ratcheting up their campaigns.

The PTI, anxious to retain its iconic poll symbol, took less than 10 days to implement the ECP decision and held intra-party elections on Dec 2, 2023.

However, the ECP on Dec 22 voided that exercise too following an unprecedented microscopic examination of the inner workings of a political party and declared it ineligible for an election symbol.