Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has challenged the election commission’s decision on the party elections in Peshawar High Court (PHC). “The election commission has not been authorized to give its decision on the mechanism of conducting the party elections,” the petition read. According to the plea, those who challenged the intra-party elections are not the party members. “The ECP has declare intra-party elections of the PTI as void and also withdrawn its election symbol of ‘bat’, according to the plea. The PTI has pleaded to the court to constitute a bench comprises of senior judges with the request to fix hearing of the case today. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and those challenged the intra-party election of the PTI have been made respondents in the petition.

PTI lost its electoral symbol ‘bat’ as the ECP announced the verdict on its intra-party elections on Dec 22. The electoral body had earlier reserved its verdict on pleas challenging the party’s intra-party elections after hearing arguments. Announcing the verdict, a five-member bench of the ECP, headed by Chief Election Commissioner, Sikandar Sultan Raja, declared the PTI’s intra-party elections null and void. Following the ECP verdict, the newly elected PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan no longer remain the party’s head. Prominent among those who filed applications against the PTI intra-party polls were Akbar S. Babar, Raja Tahir Nawaz, and Naureen Farooq.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)