On 26 December, the Peshawar High Court ruled in favor of a petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) party against an order of the Election Commission of Pakistan passed on 22 December 2023. The ECP order had declared the PTI’s intra-party polls conducted on 3 December 2023 as null and void and had stripped it of its party symbol ‘bat’. According to Dawn, the petition was jointly filed by the PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali, and six other leaders. The petition had requested the court to declare the verdict of the ECP without jurisdiction.

The court, after hearing the arguments, suspended the ECP’s order terming it ‘unconstitutional’. It further directed the ECP to “publish the certificate of PTI’s intra-party polls on its website and restore the election symbol of PTI.” The court stated that this order would be operative till 9 January, 2024 and also issued notices to the respondents and the ECP.  Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel also provided the rationale for the judgment in his short order and wrote: “…as elections are scheduled to be held on February 8, 2024, and the last date for allotment of election symbols is January 13, 2024, so keeping in view the urgency, that a political party had been denuded of its symbol, meaning thereby that aspirants from the general public who were willing to vote for the petitioners’ party were divested of their right to vote as per their choice.”

In a brief to the media following the verdict, PTI counsel Barrister Ali Zafar argued that the election symbol was of utmost importance and the “life” of any party. He called it a basic constitutional right of the organization, its workers, supporters, and voters. He hailed the PHC judgment and stated “Today the high court has upheld that basic right and declared that the ‘bat’ symbol belongs to the PTI and restored it.”  Zafar also accused the ECP of unfairness and its attitude towards PTI as one of an opponent rather than an impartial arbitrator. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan welcomed the judgment and commended the PHC for eliminating and undermining the “conspiracy against the PTI, its symbol, and its supporters” It is to be noted here that Gohar Ali Khan was elected unopposed as the new PTI chairman the intra-party polls held on 3 December 2023 with the blessing and support of PTI’s ex-chairman Imran Khan who had been disqualified from contesting the elections by the ECP given criminal court proceedings pending against him.

Separately, the PTI has also filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court against the ECP for alleged violation of the Supreme Court’s directives given in its order on 22 December. According to Dawn, the Supreme Court had directed the ECP in its order to attend to the party’s grievances urgently and resolve these expeditiously to ensure that the electoral process remains smooth, open, transparent, free, and fair. PTI in its petition has also requested the SC’s directions to ensure a level playing field in the run-up to the elections.

These actions to seek legal courses have come in the wake of reports of harassment by the ECP and other administrators of PTI members, workers, candidates, and leaders.  The PTI has also leveled accusations against the ECP as operating as its adversary and opponent. The ECP has accused PTI of not following rules and its constitution. Despite these differences, a party with a following and base must get to take part in an election as its exclusion would give the impression of the whole process being undemocratic and vengeful. The interim relief granted by the PHC to PTI should be seen in this light.
  
References
Waseem Ahmad Shah, “ Peshawar High Court hands ‘bat’ back to PTI,” Dawn, 27 December 2023
Abdul Hakeem, “Peshawar High Court suspends ECP order stripping PTI’s ‘bat’ symbol”,  Dawn, 27 December, 2023
 Amjad Safi & Mumtaz Alvi, “ECP decision suspended, ‘bat’ restored to PTI: PTI wins hoped-for reprieve in PHC,” The News International, 27 December 2023