ISLAMABAD (Daily Point) — The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) nullified the intra-party elections of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), declaring them void on Friday.

The commission stated that PTI would not be allocated the bat symbol in the upcoming general election due to its failure to conduct the election in accordance with its constitution, Election Rules, and Election Act.

Referring to Barrister Gohar Khan as the ‘alleged chairman,’ the ECP rejected the certificate dated December 4, 2023, and Form-65 submitted by him. The decision was made by a five-member ECP bench led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja, and Justice (r) Ikram Ullah authored the decision.

The ruling pointed out that there was no evidence proving the appointment of Niaz Ullah Niazi as the chief election commissioner and the removal of Jamal Akbar Insari from the same position. The ECP further stated that Omar Ayub had not been formally appointed as the party’s secretary-general, and the position still belonged to Asad Umar.

According to the decision, Imran Khan’s term as chairman expired in June of the current year, rendering him powerless to extend the tenure of any office bearer. The ECP emphasized that during the interim period, the party was supposed to be led by a chief organizer, but no appointment was made.

On November 23, the ECP had instructed PTI to conduct intra-party elections within 20 days or risk losing its electoral symbol. The party organized the election on December 2, where Barrister Gohar Khan was elected chairman. However, 15 petitions challenging PTI’s intra-party election were filed with the ECP, including one from Akbar S Babar, a dissatisfied party member who had also filed the foreign funding case.