ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday approached the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) with a 24-point Charter of Demand (COD) for “holding free, fair and transparent general elections”. contacted and the party was reported by The News on Thursday.
Senior PTI leaders and legal representatives, including Barrister Gohar Ali and Dr Babar Awan, presented the Democracy Charter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja during their 45-minute long meeting at the ECP Secretariat on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the PTI leaders conveyed their concerns regarding the February 8 elections and discussed in detail the obstacles in their campaign.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, PTI spokesperson Barrister Gohar Ali urged the ECP to issue a decision on the petitions filed by the party regarding the election symbol on October 18 and 30 respectively and the uncertainty. End it.
He demanded the ECP to immediately allot the election symbol of “bat” to the party and provide a level playing field.
Ali claimed that the CEC had assured the delegation that the bat symbol would be given to PTI and it would be on the ballot paper in the elections.
He said that in the Charter of Democracy, PTI has also demanded the release and recovery of abducted and arrested PTI workers and leaders. Gohar Ali further said that he informed the ECP that PTI is not being allowed to hold public meetings, rallies and corner meetings in private premises.
A PTI spokesperson pointed out that either their requests to hold public meetings were unreasonably delayed, or flatly refused.
During the meeting, he said, he highlighted the challenges faced by the PTI in holding rallies and printing flags and banners. He claimed that the party was not even allowed to print party flags and banners.
Gauhar Ali explained that there were untold hurdles in his election campaign and therefore he requested the ECP for a notification to enable a fair and just election process. He also raised the issue of “illegal release of huge funds by caretaker government” with the CEC, adding that the caretaker government’s move to release funds was beyond its constitutional mandate and authority.
Responding to a question about the PTI chairman, the spokesperson made it clear that Imran Khan would remain the party’s chief even if he was in “illegal detention”, and excluding him from the election fray was out of the question. .
He asserted that it is the constitutional responsibility of the ECP to maintain a level playing field for all political parties. Therefore, the electoral body should play its constitutional role in this regard.
