ISLAMABAD (Politico.pk/Web Desk) The Supreme Court has reserved its decision on whether the bat emblem belongs to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf or not.
As the Supreme Court started hearing the PTI symbol issue on Saturday, Barrister Ali Zafar, the party’s main lawyer, claimed that neither the Constitution nor the Election Act empowered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to judge intraparty votes.
The arguments came as Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar observed that there are two issues at stake: first, whether the court [Peshawar High Court] has the jurisdiction to intervene and overturn the ECP decision, and second, whether the ECP possessed the authority to investigate intraparty elections.
Earlier on Friday, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa stated that the PTI will face consequences if anomalies were discovered in its intraparty polls. He stressed that the ECP was a constitutional institution and that the court should not interfere in its affairs.
And on Saturday, the chief stated that the main issue was democracy, not the fulfillment of the party constitution. He went on to say that democracy should extend to political parties as well as the country.
The Supreme Court is hearing the case after the ECP contested the Peshawar High Court (PHC) order, which overturned the country’s top electoral body’s decision to withdraw the “bat” – the PTI party emblem – earlier this week.
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