ECP faces contempt of court notices in PTI’s symbol dispute

PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) finds itself at the center of a legal battle as notices for contempt of court are issued in response to a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) held a hearing on PTI’s contempt plea, appointing a two-member bench comprised of Justice Shakeel Ahmed and Justice Waqar Ahmed.

The court has called for responses from all parties involved, including the ECP, with a deadline set for January 16. The contempt petition alleges the ECP’s failure to restore PTI’s election symbol and promptly upload the certificate to its website, in violation of court orders.

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PTI contends that, despite court directives, the ECP has not issued the bat symbol certificate to PTI, constituting contempt of court.

Simultaneously, the ECP has appealed to the Supreme Court against granting the bat symbol to PTI. The appeal challenges the PHC’s decision, arguing that PTI did not conduct inter-party elections under the Election Act.

The ECP asserts that the PHC’s decision goes against the Constitution and the law, urging the annulment of the ruling. In response to this development, an important meeting was convened by the ECP officials, with four commission members and the special secretary in attendance.

ECP’s Law Wing briefed the commission on legal aspects related to the PHC’s decision. – INP