In a statement released on Thursday, the PTI announced that it would hold new internal elections on March 3 (Sunday). This choice is the result of several things that happened before the announcement. The road ahead of the general elections on February 8 for the PTI was difficult, with long hearings. The Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision, which declared the PTI’s internal polls to be “unconstitutional,” was supported by the Supreme Court last month, resulting in the party’s emblem being removed.
The importance of abiding by the law and the Constitution was underscored by the supreme court in its comprehensive ruling. It emphasised that, although infractions of a minor nature could not justify the withholding of a party’s election symbol, the failure to have intra-party elections was a serious offence. As a result, many party members chose to run for office on their own, using different electoral symbols, robbing the PTI of its right to reserved seats.
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The schedule that was made public states that PTI members will be able to get nomination forms beginning on February 22 and submit them to the returning officers (RO) on February 23 and 24 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The examination of nomination forms will end at 3 p.m. on February 25, and the deadline for appeals of RO decisions is February 26. By February 29, the appeals process and the release of the panels and candidates list will be concluded. Furthermore, a revised list of panels will be released on February 28 and the deadline for candidate and panel withdrawals is set for that date.
Schedule for Elections
On March 3, there will be intra-party elections from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Polling places will be marked with the following names:
- Islamabad: PTI Central Office, St.32, G-8, Islamabad
- Balochistan: PTI Provincial Secretariat, Main Chorangi, Shahbaz Town, Quetta
- 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
PTI’s internal elections were originally scheduled for February 5, but were postponed because of administrative issues and security concerns following the general elections on February 8. The Federal Chief Election Commission of the PTI released the new schedule for the intra-party elections today; they will now take place on March 3.