PESHAWAR: Senior party insiders told The News that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) intra-party polls are still controversial because of the party’s opaque voting procedures, which prevent many party members from knowing who will vote in the crucial election that is primarily dominated by its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa leadership.
PTI said on Thursday that it will hold intra-party polls on February 5 and that “registered” members will be able to cast ballots.
“Some party leaders are going to make this their fourth mistake. The party’s former KP lawmaker stated, “They announced intra-party elections but kept it secret for no obvious reasons.”
He begged for anonymity but said that the party has already gone through a crisis, for which he held some senior PTI leaders accountable. He added that the intra-party votes set for February 5, 2024, are the most recent development that could further damage the party’s standing in the February election.
He claimed that for the first time, neither the party’s previous MNAs nor its MPAs, nor even its core committee members, knew if they would be permitted to cast ballots.
“Unfortunately, the party’s founding leader is behind bars and has left the party in the hands of a few people who distributed party tickets improperly. Since tickets were not distributed based on merit, it irritated true party members, who in many cases stood against PTI candidates.
He stated that some party leaders had planned to hold the intra-party poll during a general body meeting a few days prior, but that none of the PTI office-bearers had been invited.
In the name of the entire group, they had invited a few chosen individuals. It’s interesting to note that not a single senior leader of the party, including the majority of former MNAs, MPAs, and core committee members, was registered to vote in the intra-party poll, according to the PTI leader.
In the same way that the court accepts election results when top party members are prohibited from casting ballots, he declared that he was positive that the Supreme Court will reject the election results once more.
A former MP and PTI leader expressed similar opinions, claiming that ticket allocation and intra-party elections had betrayed their lack of trust, along with those of other former party lawmakers.
A few people asserted that Imran Khan had given them the authority to make choices. The Supreme Court denied their attempt to hold secret intra-party elections, which cost the party its electoral emblem, the “bat.” This was their first mistake. The PTI representative clarified, “Their fourth mistake is again having the intra-party election in secret. Their third mistake was keeping Plan B in secret. Their second blunder was keeping the ticket distribution secret.
PTI regional president Ali Amin Gandapur was contacted in an attempt to get his thoughts, but he did not return calls or emails.
When contacted, Zahir Shah Toru, a spokesman for the PTI, stated that he was aware of the intra-party election but that he did not have any other information.
“I am occupied with my election campaign, but if the intra-party election is conducted in secret, how can the court recognize the results? The PTI spokesperson stated, “I’ll verify with the appropriate parties and share my thoughts with you later.
