PTI Swabi president challenges intra-party polls in ECP

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Swabi District President Shah Malik Yousafzai has challenged the party’s recently held intra-party polls.

In a petition submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday, Yousafzai said the PTI intra-party elections were illegal. He urged the ECP to declare the intra-party polls illegal and order for the exercise to be held afresh.

Earlier this month, PTI Chief Election Commissioner Azam Swati declared successful holding of the party’s intra-party polls, which were won by the ‘Insaf Panel’.

According to Swati, the Insaf Panel received 189,055 votes while the Ehtesab Panel bagged 41,647 votes.

Insaf Panel wins PTI's intra-party polls

Current leadership to continue holding the sway in the party

The members of the party — around two million in number — sent their votes via SMS to select the party’s hierarchy.

A very low turnout was witnessed in the intra-party polls, which are mandatory under the electoral laws of the country.

The Insaf Panel included the present PTI leadership, while its opposing Ehtesab Panel had little known PTI members competing against the party’s bigwigs.

Following the intra-party polls, the ECP allowed the PTI to be allotted the electoral symbol of the cricket bat, which it had restricted earlier owing to the lack of intra-party elections.

Foreign funding case in ECP

The ECP held a hearing into the PTI’s ‘foreign funding’ case on Thursday. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retd) Sardar Raza Khan observed that the ECP had adjourned the Hashim Bhutta case as well since a similar case is ongoing in the Supreme Court.

Bhutta, a ‘common’ citizen, had filed a case saying the PTI chairman lied to the ECP with regards to the party’s funding and should thus be barred from contesting elections. The foreign funding case is ongoing in the ECP on a petition by Akbar Babar, a founding member of the PTI who has since been disowned by the party.

PTI funding case: ECP rejects Imran’s plea to indefinitely postpone case

PTI chairman to submit his reply by June 7

The CEC directed Babar to submit his reply, saying the bench will then proceed over the matter.

The petitioner’s counsel asked that the proceedings not be delayed, saying the matter relates to illegal funding of a political party. The counsel said PTI Chairman Imran Khan had earlier sought refuge with the Islamabad High Court and now is doing so before the Supreme Court.

The CEC, however, directed the PTI chief to submit his response by July 6, noting that Imran Khan has not submitted a response despite several notices. The hearing was then adjourned.