Following its decision to remain on opposition benches in the Centre and Punjab while preparing to establish a government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced Thursday that fresh intra-party votes would be held on March 3.
The announcement comes after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) declared the PTI’s intra-party elections null and void due to administrative irregularities related to the party’s failure to follow its own Constitution as well as the provisions of the Election Act 2017 and Election Rules 2017.
Though the Peshawar High Court had later reinstated the party’s “bat” emblem, the Supreme Court (SC) eventually overruled the PHC ruling and upheld the ECP’s appeal—thereby leaving the party’s candidates with no choice but to contest the February 8 polls as independent candidates.
Earlier this month, PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan said that intra-party votes to elect the chairman, central and provincial organising committees will take place on February 5, but the party then postponed the elections.
The party has announced a new schedule.
According to the PTI’s election timetable, candidates who want to run in the intra-party elections can submit their nomination papers on February 23 and 24, with the scrutiny taking place on February 25.
Meanwhile, the final decision on nomination papers will be published on February 27, and voting will take place on March 3 at the party’s central office and provincial secretariats.
Earlier this week, the party—whose candidates won over 80 National Assembly (NA) seats—secured victory in more than 100 Punjab Assembly seats and emerged as the largest party in the KP Assembly in the Feb 8 polls — announced joining hands with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) in the Centre, Punjab and KP in a bid to secure its share of the 70 NA reserved seats for women and minorities which are allocated proportionally to the parties.
According to sources, about 80 PTI-backed independent candidates have so far joined the SIC. However, the party’s pursuit of reserved seats is unlikely to be easy.
According to Advocate Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar, the allocation and distribution of reserved seats for women and non-Muslims under Articles 51, 106, and 224 of the Constitution, read with Section 104 of the Election Act, 2017 and Rule 92 of the Election Rules, is only for those political parties that have a presence in the assembly through their own election symbol after the general election, but when a political party does not have a legal existence through elected repreHowever, Khokar told The News that despite the PTI not being able to form a parliamentary party in the prevailing circumstances, its decision to ally with the SIC may allow the latter to get a share of the reserved seats.
