ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision, which nullified the electoral watchdog’s ruling on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) intra-party polls.
The ECP asserted in its plea to the top court that the PHC decision should be deemed illegal, emphasizing that PTI did not conduct intra-party elections in accordance with the Election Act.
According to sources, the ECP held a meeting to scrutinize the PHC decision and explored options on whether to contest it in the Supreme Court. Moments before filing the plea in the apex court, PTI initiated a contempt of court petition against the ECP.
The petition alleges the ECP’s non-compliance with the court’s order concerning the party’s petition on the election symbol and intra-party polls. PTI contends that despite PHC orders issued a day earlier, the ECP failed to publish the certificate for PTI’s intra-party elections on its website, constituting contempt of court.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja, ECP members, and the secretary are named as respondents in the case. Earlier today, PTI’s chief election commissioner, Niazullah Niazi, personally submitted a certified copy of the PHC decision to the ECP.
(Islamabad51_Newsdesk)
