The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced on Thursday its plans to conduct fresh intra-party elections on March 3rd, which falls on a Sunday.
Following an arduous legal battle and extensive hearings leading up to the general elections on February 8th, the PTI faced a setback last month when the Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan's decision to nullify the party's internal polls, citing them as "unconstitutional."
In a detailed verdict, the apex court emphasized that while a political party should not lose its election symbol over minor infractions, the absence of intra-party elections constituted a significant violation of both law and the Constitution.
As a consequence, numerous party members were compelled to contest the elections independently, using different electoral symbols, thereby depriving the PTI of its entitlement to reserved seats.
Initially slated for February 5th, the internal elections were postponed due to security concerns and administrative issues arising from the February 8th general elections.
Today, the PTI's Federal Chief Election Commission released the timetable for the intra-party elections, now scheduled for March 3rd.
According to the provided schedule, the party will issue a notice inviting nomination papers for PTI members on February 22nd. Nomination papers can be submitted to the returning officers (RO) between 10am and 3pm on February 23rd and 24th.
Scrutiny of the nomination forms will be completed by 3pm on February 25th, with February 26th designated as the deadline for filing appeals against the RO's decisions. Decisions on appeals and the final list of panels/candidates will be issued by February 29th.
Furthermore, the last date for candidate/panel withdrawals and the issuance of a revised list of panels is February 28th.
Polling for the intra-party elections is scheduled to take place from 10am to 3pm on March 3rd. Designated polling locations include:
- Islamabad: PTI Central Office, St.32, G-8, Islamabad
- Balochistan: PTI Provincial Secretariat, Main Chorangi, Shahbaz Town, Quetta
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP): Mehmaan-e-Khas Wedding Hall, GT Road, Opposite Gulbahar Police Station, Peshawar
- Punjab: 197-XX, Street 6, Phase 3, DHA, Lahore
- Sindh: Insaf House, 16-B, Block 6, PECHS, Rashid Minhas Street, Karachi
Election results will be announced by 8pm on the same day, with a notification issued on March 4th.
