The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday moved Peshawar High Court to challenge its single-bench ruling on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) electoral ‘bat’ symbol, The News International reported.

It reported that ECP has requested the court review the PTI’s intra-party elections and its decisions related to the election symbol and also requested the court fix the plea before a division bench in the greater interest of the public.

It said that the ECP is charged with the duty to conduct elections honestly, justly, fairly and under law.

The petition read that Article 218(3) allows the electoral body to organise and conduct the elections, adding that the ECP is also responsible for making all necessary arrangements ahead of the polls.

“This court […] observed that election is a process that starts with the issuance of the election programme and consists of the various links and stages on that behalf, such as the filing of nomination papers, their scrutiny, the hearing of objections and the holding of actual polls. If any of these links are challenged, it really (is) tantamount to challenging the said process of election,” it said.

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“This case implies that where a violation of the standards mentioned in Article 218(3) has not yet taken place, the Election Commission is legally empowered under Article 218(3) to exercise its powers pre-emptively in order to avoid a violation of these standards,” said the petition.

The plea said that the petitioners have sought “interim relief” for the suspension of ECP’s order as well as for the publication of an intra-party certificate on its website along with the restoration of the ‘bat’ symbol.

“That this Hon’ble Court under the settled law cannot grant final relief as interim relief; hence, the interim relief so granted vide order dated December 26, 2023 is against the law as well as against the dictum laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgement reported as 1997 SCMR 1508,” it added.

The ECP prayed the court to recall the “interim relief” granted by the single bench on December 26.

While announcing a reserved verdict, the PHC suspended the ECP’s order and restored the party’s ‘bat’ symbol till a final decision on the petition. The court also stated that a double bench will hear the matter after winter vacations.

On the other hand, The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) confirmed on Saturday that it has rejected the nomination papers for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khanb, dealing a major blow to the former Prime Minister ahead of the upcoming elections slated for February 8, 2024, The News International reported on Saturday.

Despite being disqualified from contesting the upcoming general elections in Pakistan, jailed ex-PM, Imran Khan submitted his nomination papers from his home constituency in Mianwali on Friday, as reported by Geo News.

Khan had his nomination papers submitted for the National Assembly’s NA-89 constituency. PTI leader Umar Bodla appeared on the former prime minister’s behalf.

The PTI founder, a 70-year-old former international cricket star, has been at the centre of a political crisis since he was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022.

The cricketer-turned-politician was sent to jail for three years on August 5 after being found guilty of selling state gifts during his 2018-22 tenure as prime minister–the charges he denies, Geo News reported.

Khan is seeking to overturn that conviction, which has barred him from contesting elections for five years. He filed a plea in the Islamabad High Court, but it was rejected, after which the party moved to the Supreme Court.

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In a separate victory for his legal team, they managed to get him bail from the apex court earlier in the day; however, the incarcerated former PM still won’t be able to come out of jail anytime soon as he was arrested in two more cases during his incarceration, according to Geo News.

Khan’s legal team says that the district court, which sent Khan to jail and had him disqualified, gave a “baseless” judgement.

Pakistan’s general elections will take place on February 8, 2024, with political parties turning up the heat by staging rallies or wooing politicians with a substantial voter base into their ranks.

The top two issues that the incoming government will have to deal with are economic stabilisation and political uncertainty, both of which have been persistent since PTI’s ouster.

According to Geo News, several politicians have hinted that a coalition would rule the country as no single leader or party is in a position to form the majority.

Despite his disqualification and fallout with the establishment, Khan remains a crucial reason for PTI’s vote bank, as was evident when his party released an AI-generated audio of Khan to boost the supporters’ morale, Geo News reported.

An uphill task remains for the PTI as it goes into the polls after Khan stepped down as the PTI chairman and handed over the reins to Barrister Gohar Khan, the man who has been in the party for around a year.

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Source: ANI