PTI’s intra-party elections challenged in ECP, again | Maqvi News

• Babar says he moves ECP against PTI’s “fresh fraud”.
• ‘Party’s top brass doesn’t want to give leadership to workers.’
• Illegal use of PTI funds should be stopped, demands Babar.  

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding member Akbar S Babar Tuesday filed two separate pleas with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) challenging the recent intra-party elections of the Imran Khan-founded party.

On January 13, the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) December 22 verdict declaring the party’s intra-party polls invalid, leading the party to lose its ‘bat’ electoral symbol.

In its 11-page order on a petition filed by Babar, a five-member ECP bench — headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja — declared PTI’s intra-party elections unlawful.

In his fresh plea, Babar requested the ECP to annul the recent intra-party elections of the PTI.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Khan-founded party held fresh intra-party elections on March 3.

PTI’s federal election commissioner Raoof Hasan formally announced last Sunday that Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Omar Ayub Khan had been elected as the party’s chairman and secretary general unopposed, respectively, in the intra-party polls.

Taking to journalists, Babar said that he moved the ECP against the “fresh fraud” of the PTI, adding that he was kept away from the intra-party elections.

Terming the PTI intra-party elections a “drama”, the petitioner asked why the same faces are elected unopposed every time.

“The party membership of those lawmakers who have joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) should be revoked,” he demanded.

Referring to the SC’s verdict, Babar said he was a member of the former ruling party and alleged that the party’s top brass “did not want the leadership to go into the hands of workers”.

“The party’s leadership does not have the prerogative to strike a deal with any other political party.”

Responding to a question, the petitioner demanded that “illegal” use of the PTI funds should be stopped.

“They should be stopped until the new intra-party elections are held as per the [party’s] constitution.”