Election Commission Decides to Act on Supreme Court’s Special Seat Decisions

Islamabad: The Election Commission has decided to implement the Supreme Court’s decisions regarding special seats. According to a statement issued by the Election Commission, a meeting was held today to discuss the implementation of the Supreme Court’s directives. During the meeting, the Election Commission resolved to proceed with the implementation of the Supreme Court’s rulings. The Commission has instructed its legal team to immediately refer back to the Supreme Court for further guidance should any complications arise in implementation.
The Election Commission strongly condemned unwarranted criticism from a political party targeting the Chief Election Commissioner and members of the Election Commission. They dismissed the criticism as baseless, asserting that the Commission operates in accordance with the constitution and the law, without succumbing to any pressures.
Furthermore, the statement clarified that the Election Commission did not misinterpret any rulings and upheld its decision not to validate inter-party elections by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Despite PTI’s objections across various forums, the decision was upheld. PTI’s intra-party elections were deemed invalid, leading to the withdrawal of the electoral symbol under Section 215 of the Elections Act. Thus, allegations of bias against the Election Commission were deemed highly inappropriate.
According to the Election Commission, 39 members of the assembly were declared as PTI members based on their nomination papers indicating affiliation with PTI. It was noted that for any candidate to be considered a party candidate, it is necessary to submit a party ticket and a declaration return to the returning officer, which these candidates had failed to do. Therefore, it was not possible for returning officers to recognize them as PTI candidates.
The statement further mentioned that 41 candidates were declared independent as they did not mention PTI in their nomination papers nor did they indicate any affiliation with the party or submit a party ticket. Hence, they were permitted to participate in the election as independents. Following their election victories, these assembly members subsequently opted to join the Sunni Ittehad Council in a voluntary capacity.
The Sunni Ittehad Council appealed against the decisions of the Election Commission and the Peshawar High Court. However, their appeal was dismissed. PTI did not participate as a party in this case neither before the Election Commission nor before the Peshawar High Court, nor did they participate as a party in the Supreme Court.
Analysis:
This news piece summarizes the recent decision of the Election Commission to adhere to the Supreme Court’s directives regarding special seats. It highlights the Election Commission’s stance against criticism and clarifies its decisions regarding PTI’s intra-party elections and the subsequent consequences under the Elections Act. The article also mentions the outcome of the appeals made by the Sunni Ittehad Council against the decisions of the Election Commission and the Peshawar High Court.