Islamabad (November 28, 2017): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will announced its reserved verdict on a petition challenging the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) intra-party elections on December 5, 2017.
An ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Sardar Raza Khan heard took up the case today.
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The ECP was to announce its verdict reserved on November 3 today. However, at the outset of the proceeding, CEC Sardar Raza observed that as the five members’ bench of ECP had reserved the verdict and two members of that bench were not available today so the verdict would be announced on December 5, 2017.
The commission then adjourned the proceeding till December 5. It is to be mentioned here that during last hearing the ECP had reserved its verdict challenging PTI intra-party election held in June ─ on the grounds that the polling process violated the party’s constitution.
On June 22 ─ 10 days after the PTI held the poll ─ Yusuf Ali, the former general secretary of the PTI’s Swabi chapter, had filed the petition before the ECP and asked the commission to declare the election null and void.
The ECP had reserved its verdict after hearing arguments from the counsel representing the petitioner and Advocate Babar Awan, the counsel representing the party before the commission.
During the proceedings on last hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer had told the ECP that the PTI had held “dummy” intra-party polls in violation of the party constitution.
He had recalled that the elections were held on June 12 and that on May 13 the party had amended its constitution.
The petitioner had said that the PTI had not completed the necessary legal formalities when amending the constitution.
He had added that the party’s constitution can only be changed if there is a two-thirds majority from the Central Executive Council.
The lawyer was referring to an amendment which gave registered voters just two choices: panel 1 or 2.
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