Protest in Islamabad: ECP delists hearing of PTI intra-party polls case

ISLAMABAD: A day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) launched its long march, the electoral entity on Monday delisted the hearing of the PTI intra-party elections case, which was scheduled to be heard on Tuesday (today), citing prevailing law and order situation, and roads blockage in the federal capital.

The next date of the hearing of this case, as well as two other cases, will be announced later, revealed a notice issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

On Sunday, the PTI launched its long march towards the D-Chowk Islamabad – a development that has sent the top federal government functionaries into a frenzy.

The government has blocked several roads, and suspended telecom and internet services in different parts of Islamabad and other cities in a bid to foil the PTI’s protest campaign.

The submission of the annual accounts statement of the previous financial year to the ECP is a mandatory requirement for every political party under the relevant electoral laws. However, the PTI has taken the stance that it could not submit its annual accounts statement for last financial year 2023-2024 within the stipulated period due to the confiscation of the related financial record by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) during a raid at the party’s Central Secretariat this July.

The Section 210(1) of the Elections Act 2017 provides that a political party shall submit to the commission within 60 days from the close of a financial year a consolidated statement of its accounts.

A political party shall be eligible to obtain an election symbol for contesting elections for the Parliament, provincial assemblies or local government on submission of its statement of accounts—in the light of Section 215(2) of the Elections Act 2017.

The Supreme Court, in its landmark 12th July judgement on the reserved seats, declared that the lack or denial of an election symbol does not in “any manner affect the constitutional and legal rights of a political party to participate in an election (whether general or bye) and to field candidates and the commission is under a constitutional duty to act, and construe and apply all statutory provisions, accordingly.”

Earlier this month, the ECP heard a case against 48 political parties for not submitting their annual account statements for the last financial year.

These political parties did not include the PTI. Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Balochistan National Party (BNP), Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) were the parliamentary entities in the said list. The case remains pending.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024