Party seeks to obtain a certificate from the ECP to qualify for its lost electoral symbol “bat”
- Raoof Hasan presents details of form 65, details of officials.
- Party seeks to obtain ECP certificate to recover its “bat” symbol.
- Akbar S Babar challenges and calls for annulment of the party's internal elections.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has submitted documents related to its recently concluded intra-party elections before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). News reported on Sunday.
The documents, submitted by PTI Federal Election Commissioner Raoof Hasan, include details of the newly elected party functionaries, a certificate from the party chief containing Form 65, names of central committee members and other relevant records.
The party, which elected lawyer Gohar Ali Khan and Omar Ayub as president and general secretary on March 3, intends to obtain the corresponding certificate to be eligible for the allocation of its “bat” electoral symbol by the electoral body.
The development comes as the former ruling party has become embroiled in a months-long saga over its internal polls and its electoral symbol.
Having been expelled from the electoral race following the Supreme Court verdict upholding the ECP's decision in which the electoral body had revoked its “bat” symbol citing illegal intra-party polls, the PTI conducted fresh intra-party polls last week. .
However, the recent intra-party polls have once again been questioned by PTI founding member Akbar S Babar, who had filed two separate applications with the electoral body seeking annulment of the intra-party elections.
Speaking to reporters, Babar said he had moved the ECP against the PTI's “new fraud”, adding that he was kept away from the party's internal elections.
Calling the internal elections of the PTI a “drama”, the petitioner asked why the same faces are always elected without opposition.
“The party affiliation of those legislators who have joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) should be revoked,” he demanded.
Referring to the SC verdict, Babar said he was a member of the erstwhile ruling party and alleged that the party top brass “did not want the leadership to fall into the hands of the workers”.
“The party leadership does not have the prerogative to reach an agreement with any other political party.”
