The hearing of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) case contesting the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) ruling restoring the PTI’s electoral symbol of ‘bat’ resumed on Saturday in the Supreme Court. The court challenged the party to establish that it led the intra-party polls.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Justice Musarrat Hilali make up the bench that is now deliberating the matter. You may watch the hearing unfold live on the website of the highest court in the land.
On Friday, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa of Pakistan commented that they wanted the next elections to be held in the country while hearing the electoral body’s petition contesting the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) order to reinstate PTI’s electoral symbol.
The PHC overturned the ECP’s decision to take away the PTI’s beloved electoral emblem, saying that the party’s internal polls were flawed.
While the high court did require the PTI to receive an electoral symbol and certificate, it did not declare the results of the party’s internal elections, as the CJP noted yesterday.
Following today’s start of the hearing, the chief judge announced that the PHC had given its detailed order. The podium was passed to Hamid Khan, agent for the PTI. Members of the PTI, including Ali Zafar, the party’s chairperson Barrister Gohar, and chief election commissioner Niazullah Niazi were all present in the courtroom.
Since today was the last day to submit party tickets to ECP, Hamid said he would endeavour to wrap up his arguments shortly. As the order must be issued, Justice Isa acknowledged that the court also has less time, suggesting that the ruling would be announced today.
First, Justice Mazhar wanted to know if the ECP could look into intra-party elections, and second, if the highest court did have the power to do so.
According to the PTI’s legal team, the Elections Act of 2017 and the Constitution do not grant the electoral body the authority to examine the results of an organization’s internal surveys.
His claims that the ECP had “discriminated” against PTI were bolstered by his assertion that no party member had contested the intra-party election and his repeated insistence that the contestants were not affiliated with the party.
Zafar further by saying the commission’s Dec. 22 verdict was devoid of any mention of irregularities and offered “strange” reasoning for its decision.
CJP Isa requested that the attorney set the record straight regarding the claims against ECP and maintain the “arguments legal” throughout the proceedings.
The CJP then noted that the party’s constitution mandated the election of the chairman every two years and the rest of the party’s officials every three years after additional debate. This level of proof establishes a breach of the party constitution.
While PTI was in power, the top judge said, ECP served notice on the party. The party’s adherence to the election schedule and the transparency of the intra-party polling were questions raised by Justice Mazhar.
“You ask for a level-playing field but would also have to give the same to party members.”
Justice Mazhar noted that the PTI’s constitution has the inconsistencies mentioned by the ECP; in response, the party’s lawyer stated that the ECP has not found any in relation to the poll date or location.
The CJP went on to state that the question at hand is the validity of the inter-party surveys.
Zafar maintained that the ECP lacked the power to examine inter-party elections. However, Justice Isa pointed out that Zafar’s lawyer had already indicated that the electoral body might fine polling places for improper procedures, so he was arguing against the ECP’s authority at the same time.
In addition to casting doubt on the validity of the arguments put up in court, the bench raised questions about the integrity of the polls themselves.
