By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of former prime minister Imran Khan announced on Friday that it had postponed its internal elections until after the general elections scheduled for Feb. 8, citing security concerns and legal challenges.
The decision came a day after the party had released a schedule for holding intra-party polls on Feb. 5, in a bid to reclaim its electoral symbol, which it lost in a legal battle.
In December, the Election Commission of Pakistan invalidated the PTI’s intra-party polls, which were held earlier that month, after 14 members challenged the process and claimed they were denied the opportunity to contest.
The PTI appealed the ECP’s decision in the Peshawar High Court (PHC), which ruled in its favor and restored its bat symbol. However, the ECP challenged the PHC’s order in the Supreme Court.
The three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, ruled that the PTI had violated its own constitution and election laws by holding flawed internal elections, and upheld the decision of the ECP to revoke the party’s symbol.
The PTI candidates, after the top court verdict, are running as independents with different symbols in the upcoming election.
Analysts say the court order could hurt the PTI’s chances of retaining its support base and mobilizing its voters in a country where literacy is less than 30 percent and voters recognize parties through their election symbols.
The PTI has been using the bat symbol since its inception in 1996 and has built a loyal following among the urban youth and middle class. The party, led by former cricket star Imran Khan, came to power in 2018 on a platform of anti-corruption and reform, but voted out in 2022.
The PTI’s move to hold fresh intra-party polls was seen as an attempt to regain its symbol and its unity, as the party faced fears of defections and horse-trading among its ranks.
However, the party faced a setback on Wednesday, when its planned general body meeting at its central secretariat in Islamabad was disrupted by security officials, who allegedly raided and sealed the premises and prevented the members from entering.
The party’s information secretary, Raoof Hasan, accused the administration of creating an “unfortunate security situation” and said the party had to shift the meeting online and seek legal remedies.
Hasan said the party had received requests from its members, who were busy with the election campaign, to postpone the intra-party polls.
“Taking cognizance of the security situation created by the administration and the views expressed by some of our members, the holding of intra-party elections needs to be rescheduled,” Hasan said in a notification issued on Friday.
He said the party was ready to hold the polls through digital balloting, but needed more time to arrange alternate venues.
“The new date for the polls would be announced after the general elections, within the mandate and timeframe approved by the general body meeting.”
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