Absent ‘Bat,’ PTI is excluded from the Senate race
In a same situation, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is watching the Senate elections from the sidelines as it struggles to regain its parliamentary symbol.
The Senate polls follow the same laws governing general elections, with the exception that only parties possessing electoral insignia are allowed to participate, under the directives of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
In order to avoid legal complications, PTI candidates need to submit their nomination documents on their own.
Nominees of the party, according to sources within ECP, must complete their paperwork without mentioning PTI in order to avoid legal complications.
PTI’s hopes for the Senate are in jeopardy since the “bat” emblem is out of reach, and its candidates will run as independents once more. On the other hand, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) members are about to support PTI’s independent candidates.
ECP sources reaffirmed that only political parties bearing electoral emblems are permitted to run in the elections; this restriction also applies to Senate elections.
A crisis was caused in December of last year by the ECP decision to refuse the PTI its electoral symbol on technical grounds; the Supreme Court affirmed this decision. However, in the general elections on February 8, the PTI-endorsed candidates negotiated the electoral struggle as independents without a symbol.
According to insider sources, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership has finished its preliminary discussions and is now finalizing the names of two new candidates for Senate seats, even as the Senate by-polls get closer.
PTI has identified Zulfi Bukhari as a potential candidate for the Senate, a seat that is much sought after. Furthermore, the PTI’s founding member and veteran Hamid Khan has been allocated a Senate ticket by the party.
Ilyas Mehrban is already a candidate for the Senate and has been given a ticket.
But the party is still thinking things through and is evaluating a number of other possible Senate contenders.
Notably, Imran Khan, the founding chairman, must approve all Senate nominations. Imran will likely decide the candidates’ fate during a pivotal meeting in the near future.
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