PTI still included in ECP’s ‘listed political parties’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has lost its election symbol but has been recognized as a political party by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), The News International newspaper reported. The ECP has shown PTI at serial number 99 in its list of ‘listed political parties’. The ECP website was accessed on Monday evening.

Former Attorney General of Pakistan and senior lawyer Anwar Mansoor said that PTI has been barred from contesting elections as a political party, but it has not been deregistered and is still recognized as a political party by the ECP. Is going.

Mansoor said that although, after being deprived of their election symbol, PTI candidates can contest elections only as independent candidates, those elected as independents after the elections have the option to join PTI. According to The News International, the former attorney general said that PTI as a political party could be represented in the next parliament as independent candidates by those who choose to join it after winning the elections.

Former ECP secretary Kanwar Dilshad said he was surprised to see that PTI was still in the ECP’s list of ‘listed political parties’. He said that in his view a political party that loses its election symbol also loses its official status as a political party. “With the withdrawal of the election symbol, the registration of the political party with the ECP stands cancelled,” he said. He said that those who are selected as independent candidates cannot join PTI.

While Dilshad said that PTI has lost its entity as an officially recognized political party by the ECP, Mansoor stressed that there are some other legal provisions that allow dissolution or deregistration of a political party based on formal reference. Let’s talk about. According to The News International, the ECP spokesperson was contacted but he neither participated in The News call nor responded to WhatsApp messages.

Section 215 of the Election Act 2017, which was invoked by the ECP to withdraw PTI’s election symbol, stipulates that if the political party fails to comply with the provision of Section 209 or Section 210, the Commission may After giving or may give another opportunity. being heard, declare it or otherwise declare it ineligible to receive election symbols for elections to the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), Provincial Assembly or local government, and the Commission shall elect such political party or combination of political parties Will not allocate symbol.

In subsequent elections. The said section does not talk about dissolution or cancellation of registration of the political party, but only mentions withdrawal of the election symbol for ‘subsequent elections’. The law and the Constitution are silent on whether independent candidates can join a party whose election symbol has been stripped of them, after being notified as successful candidates by the ECP.

However, for reserved seats, the Constitution allows independent candidates to join the party that won the election within three days of official notification of the elected candidates, regardless of the number of general seats.