Islamabad: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has submitted crucial documents to the Federal Election Commission, led by Raoof Hasan, aiming to secure the party’s relevant certificate for the allocation of its electoral symbol “bat” by the electoral body. The documents include details of newly-elected party office-bearers, a certificate from the party chief containing Form 65, names of core committee members, and other pertinent records.
This development follows the party’s election of Barrister Gohar Ali Khan as chairman and Omar Ayub as secretary-general on March 3. The PTI’s objective is to fulfill the necessary requirements to qualify for the allocation of its electoral symbol.
However, this move occurs against the backdrop of a prolonged saga surrounding the PTI’s intra-party polls and electoral symbol. Previously, the Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to revoke the PTI’s “bat” symbol due to unlawful intra-party polls, leading to the party’s exclusion from the election race.
In response, the PTI conducted fresh intra-party polls last week. Nevertheless, the legitimacy of these polls has been challenged once again by PTI’s founding member Akbar S Babar. Babar filed two separate pleas with the electoral body, seeking the annulment of the recent intra-party elections.
Babar criticized the PTI’s intra-party elections as a “fresh fraud,” alleging that he was sidelined from the process. He questioned the unopposed re-election of familiar faces and demanded the revocation of party membership for lawmakers who joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
Referring to the Supreme Court’s verdict, Babar claimed that the PTI’s leadership aimed to retain control rather than empowering party workers. He emphasized that the party’s leadership cannot unilaterally strike deals with other political entities, urging transparency and accountability within the PTI’s internal processes.
