The Supreme Court will hear the appeal by the Election Commission today, challenging the Peshawar High Court’s decision to restore the PTI’s election symbol. At the same time, the PTI has filed a contempt petition against Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and other ECP members for not implementing the high court’s order in the PTI’s intra-party elections case in the Peshawar High Court.
The Supreme Court hearing holds significant implications for the country’s electoral landscape. The ECP’s appeal argued that the Peshawar High Court should not have proceeded with the case without first issuing a notice to the Attorney General for Pakistan. The ECP’s petition also highlighted that the high court ruling effectively nullified key sections of the Elections Act and Election Rules by restricting the ECP’s role in regulating and supervising intra-party elections of political parties.
In addition to this, the PTI has filed a contempt petition seeking to initiate proceedings against the chief election commissioner and other ECP members for not implementing the court’s order. The contempt plea accused the respondents of disregarding the order of the high court and downgrading its authority.