ECP challenges PTI bat symbol

PHC’s single bench suspended ECP’s order while restoring PTI’s bat symbol.

PESHAWAR: On Saturday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) took the step of challenging the single-bench ruling of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) regarding the iconic electoral ‘bat’ symbol of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The high court, on December 26, delivered a verdict on PTI’s petition, contesting the ECP’s decision that deemed the party’s intra-party polls as “illegal” and revoked its right to use the ‘bat’ symbol. In its reserved verdict, the PHC temporarily suspended the ECP’s order, reinstating the party’s ‘bat’ symbol until a final decision is made after the winter vacations, with a double bench set to hear the matter.

In its petition, the ECP urged the court to reevaluate PTI’s intra-party elections and its ruling on the election symbol. The Election Commission, in its plea, sought to have the case presented before a division bench, emphasizing the broader public interest. It asserted that the ECP is obligated to conduct elections honestly, justly, fairly, and in accordance with the law.

The petition cited Article 218(3), which empowers the electoral body to organize and conduct elections, emphasizing that the ECP is responsible for all necessary arrangements leading up to the polls.

The document stated, “This case implies that where a violation of the standards mentioned in Article 218(3) has not as yet taken place, the Election Commission is legally empowered under Article 218(3) to exercise its powers preemptively in order to avoid a violation of these standards.”

The plea indicated that the petitioners sought “interim relief” for suspending the ECP’s order, publishing an intra-party certificate on its website, and restoring the ‘bat’ symbol. However, it argued that the court, under settled law, cannot grant final relief as interim relief, asserting that the interim relief granted on December 26 is against the law and the dictum laid down by the Supreme Court in its 1997 SCMR 1508 judgment.

The ECP requested the court to reconsider the “interim relief” granted by the single bench on December 26.