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The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday reserved its verdict on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding member Akbar S. Babar’s plea challenging the party’s intra-party polls, which saw Gohar Khan elected its new chairman unopposed.
Earlier this month, the PTI held intra-party polls after the ECP gave it 20 days to do so, warning it could lose its electoral symbol of a cricket bat if it failed to comply. Immediately after the results of the polls were announced, Babar and other party members filed a petition against the “rigged/fraudulent PTI intra-party elections,” and urged the ECP to direct for the conduct of fresh polls.
The PTI maintains Babar and his fellow plaintiffs are not registered members of the PTI and thus have no grounds to challenge its intra-party elections. However, he maintains that he has court orders proving his membership and has vowed to “restore” the party to its original vision.
Taking up his plea, a five-member bench of the ECP led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja continued its hearing on Monday, with PTI counsel Ali Zafar presenting his arguments. “We conducted elections on your orders. The chairman is elected for five years while the panel is for three years,” he said, adding no formal vote was required in an uncontested election.
To an ECP member questioning the issuance of an election schedule before the polls, Zafar admitted it was not given, maintaining the party could unilaterally make decisions regarding intra-party polls. To this, an ECP member from KP observed the law clearly stipulated holding polls in accordance with established regulations. Zafar further said no party constitution provided a clear explanation of the procedures for conducting intra-party polls, adding the Elections Act did specify who qualifies as a party member. Regretting the pleas against the intra-party polls suggested “secret” polls were conducted, he said the media was aware of the election schedule and it was posted outside all party offices.
Noting the party had over 800,000 registered members, he said no one else protested the intra-party polls apart from a “few” individuals. He further pointed out that only individuals that submitted fees to the party qualified as members, adding this only applied to Babar among the petitioners.
Stressing the PTI had not violated the Elections Act, he noted Babar’s plea called for conducting intra-party polls for all political parties afresh. “The plea is not against any single political party,” he said, and urged the ECP to dismiss all petitions challenging the intra-party polls of the PTI.
Babar’s counsel, meanwhile, inquired about the purported show-cause notice issued to his client and sought a copy of it. The ECP then reserved its verdict on the pleas.
Addressing media after the hearing, Zafar maintained that none of the petitioners were eligible to contest intra-party polls, as they had not paid membership fees. He further contended the ECP lacked the authority to scrutinize any party’s intra-party polls, adding he was apprehensive of the ECP’s “motives” because it had sent him a questionnaire with over 40 questions related to the elections. He said he had inquired if other parties had received similar questionnaires, adding he was not given any satisfactory response.
Maintaining the PTI would respond to all 40 questions of the ECP, he reaffirmed that the party had fulfilled all requirements of the intra-party polls.
Babar, meanwhile, told media he would continue to “stand against injustices perpetrated by the PTI,” adding he was a member of the party and could question its conduct.