PESHAWAR
\nThe Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday filed a review petition at the Peshawar High Court (PHC) against its single bench ruling on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf\u2019s (PTI) iconic electoral \u2018bat\u2019 symbol. On December 26, the high court announced the verdict on PTI\u2019s petition challenging the ECP\u2019s verdict, which had declared the party\u2019s intra-party polls \u201cillegal\u201d and stripped it of using the \u2018bat\u2019 symbol.
\nWhile announcing a reserved verdict, the PHC suspended the ECP\u2019s order and restored the party\u2019s \u2018bat\u2019 symbol till a final decision on the petition. The court also stated that a double bench will hear the matter after winter vacations.
\nIn its petition, the ECP has requested the court to review the PTI\u2019s intra-party elections and its decision related to the election symbol.
\nThe Election Commission, in its petition, requested the court to fix the plea before a division bench in the larger interest of the public. It said that the ECP is charged with the duty to conduct elections honestly, justly fairly and in accordance with law.
\nThe 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.
\n\u201cThis court […] observed that election is a process which starts with the issuance of the election programme and consists of the various links and stages in that behalf as, filing of nomination papers, their scrutiny, the hearing of objections and the holding of actual polls. If any of these links is challenged it really (is) tantamount to challenging the said process of election,\u201d it said. \u201cThis case implies that where a violation of the standards mentioned in Article 218(3) has not as 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,\u201d said the petition.
\nThe plea said that the petitioners have sought \u201cinterim relief\u201d for the suspension of ECP\u2019s order as well as for the publication of an intra-party certificate on its website along with the restoration of the \u2018bat\u2019 symbol.
\n\u201cThat this Hon\u2019ble Court under the settled law cannot grant Final Relief as an interim relief, hence the interim relief so granted vide order dated 26th December 2023 is against the law as well as against the dictum laid down by the Hon\u2019ble Supreme Court in its Judgment reported as 1997 SCMR 1508,\u201d it added. The ECP prayed the court to recall the \u201cinterim relief\u201d granted by the single bench on December 26.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday filed a review petition at the Peshawar High Court (PHC) against its single bench ruling on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf\u2019s (PTI) iconic electoral \u2018bat\u2019 symbol. On December 26, the high court announced the verdict on PTI\u2019s petition challenging the ECP\u2019s verdict, which had declared the party\u2019s intra-party polls […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-377791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n