Elections can be contested ‘without bat as public knows IK’: ECP member

ISLAMABAD: In an apparent bid to defend the decision of depriving Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of its iconic “bat” electoral symbol, a member of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has dismissed the political importance attached to this symbol for the former ruling party — on the grounds that “people know Imran Khan.”

“Bat is not important — general elections can be contested without bat — the public knows Imran Khan — every poster of yours carry the photo of Imran Khan,” Member ECP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) former Justice Ikramullah Khan told Advocate Shoaib Shaheen, Khan’s lawyer, in the proceedings of contempt case against the ex-PM, and ex-PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, on Wednesday.

The ECP member’s comments came after Shaheen told him that PTI was not allowed to campaign for the general elections and Section 144 was imposed in different parts of the country to prevent the PTI from holding public gatherings.

“The general elections take place only after every five years—our electoral symbol has been snatched from us,” said Shaheen, who belongs to PTI but has to contest the general election as an independent candidate from National Assembly’s seat NA-46 Islamabad following Supreme Court’s verdict disallowing the PTI to retain its election symbol.

The defence lawyer urged the ECP to adjourn the contempt case till after the general elections. The bench adjourned the case till February 20.

Separately, Faisal Chaudhry, the counsel and brother of Fawad Chaudhry, sought time to file reply to the ECP’s show cause notice in the contempt case. The bench directed him to file reply by February 21 and adjourned the case till then.

ECP bench comprising of Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Muhammad Jatoi, Babar Hassan Bharwana and former Justice Ikramullah Khan heard the case.

The electoral body is under enormous public criticism for allotting what are being dubbed as “degrading” election symbols to the PTI candidates.

Some of these election symbols include aubergine, pomegranate, bowl, shoe, harmonium, tongs, hen, bottle, door, the letter ‘K,’ cup and kettle.

In a late night decision on January 13, the Supreme Court had ruled against the allotment of the bat symbol to the PTI by declaring its intra-party elections as null and void. The decision, that came just 25 days ahead of the general elections, sparked a controversy across the socio-political spectrum of the country—triggering a heated debate over the rights of the political parties — and the authority of the superior judiciary to meddle in their internal affairs.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024