Peshawar High Court suspends ECP’s vedict, restores PTI’s bat symbol

PESHAWAR: In a major breakthrough for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s verdict that had declared the party’s intra-party elections held in December 2023 as illegal and invalid. The PHC virtually restored the PTI’s iconic bat symbol.

The Peshawar High Court accepted the PTI’s plea. The ECP’s verdict will remain suspended until the formation of the divisional bench, the PHC said. The court also directed the ECP to post PTI’s certificate on its website.

The ECP had annulled the PTI’s internal polls on the grounds that they violated the party’s constitution and the Elections Act 2017.

The PTI had challenged the ECP’s decision in the PHC, arguing that the intra-party elections were conducted in a fair and transparent manner, and that the ECP had no jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of a political party.

The PHC issued a stay order on the ECP’s verdict and sought a reply from the ECP within two weeks. The court also directed the ECP to maintain the status quo of the PTI’s election symbol until the final disposal of the case.

The PTI’s intra-party elections were held on December 10, 2023, in which Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was elected as the new chairman of the party, replacing Imran Khan, who is currently in jail on corruption charges. Gohar was nominated by Imran Khan himself, and faced no opposition from any other candidate.

The PHC issued notices to all parties, including the ECP, on Tuesday and heard the arguments of PTI’s lawyers.

During the hearing, PTI’s lawyers, Ali Zafar, Babar Awan and Barrister Gohar, contended that the ECP had exceeded its authority and violated the party’s constitution by nullifying the intra-party polls.

They said that the PTI had held the elections on December 3, 2023, as per the ECP’s directive, and the ECP had accepted and certified the results.

Ali Zafar argued that the ECP had no grounds to question the appointment of the chief election commissioner for the intra-party polls or the eligibility of the party members.

He further said that the ECP’s decision to withdraw the bat symbol from PTI had effectively excluded the party from the upcoming general elections, scheduled for February 8, 2024.

Ali Zafar said that the ECP could only impose a fine for not conducting the elections, but not deprive the party of its symbol and status. They requested the PHC to annul the ECP’s decision and restore the PTI’s symbol and rights.

The PHC, headed by Justice Kamran Hayat Mian Khel, adjourned the hearing till next hearing, and sought a reply from the ECP and the petitioners who had challenged the PTI’s intra-party polls.

Talking to the media outside the PHC, PTI’s counsel Barrister Ali Zafar said that the bat symbol was the right of the party and millions of voters, which was restored by the court. He said that the ECP’s order was illegal and unconstitutional, and that the court had decided in favour of PTI’s fundamental right under Article 17 of the constitution. He said that he had argued for four hours and the ECP had no answer to the court’s questions.

He added that the court’s decision had put an end to the conspiracy against PTI and restored the trust of 250 million people. He said that he did not want to speak against the ECP, but requested it to ensure a fair and transparent election. He said that he believed in the constitution and the law, and that the courts always decided according to justice.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said that the suspension decision was much needed and that the scrutiny process had started yesterday. He said that they had submitted their priority list to the ECP and that the PHC had not only restored the election symbol, but also the trust of 25 crore people. He said that they had repeatedly said that they had faith in the judiciary and that they were grateful to the court.