In an attempt to overturn the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) single-bench verdict regarding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) famous electoral “bat” emblem, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) moved the court on Saturday.

The ruling on PTI’s appeal against the ECP’s ruling, which had deemed the party’s internal polls “illegal” and barred it from using the “bat” symbol, was made public by the high court on December 26.

The PHC revoked the ECP’s order and reinstated the party’s “bat” symbol until the petition was finally decided, all the while declaring a reserved verdict. The court further declared that the case will be heard by a double bench following the winter break.

The ECP has asked the court to examine the PTI’s intra-party elections and its choice of election symbol in its plea.

In its petition, the Election Commission asked the court to set the plea in front of a division bench for the benefit of the general public. It stated that holding elections in a fair, just, and law-abiding manner is the responsibility of the ECP.

According to the appeal, the electoral body is authorized by Article 218(3) to organize and oversee the elections, and the ECP is also in charge of making all required preparations before to the polls.

This court noted that elections are a process that begins with the publication of the election schedule and includes a number of linkages and steps, such as the submission of nomination papers, their review, the consideration of objections, and the actual polling. It stated, “It really (is) equivalent to challenging the said election process if any of these links are challenged.”

“This case implies that where a violation of the standards mentioned in Article 218(3) has not as yet taken place, the Election Commission is legally empowered under Article 218(3) to exercise its powers pre-emptively in order to avoid a violation of these standards,” the petition stated.

The appeal stated that in addition to the restoration of the ‘bat’ sign, the petitioners have requested “interim relief” for the suspension of ECP’s order and the posting of an intra-party certificate on its website.

“That this Hon’ble Court under the settled law cannot grant Final Relief as an interim relief, hence the interim relief so granted vide order dated 26th December 2023 is against the law as well as against the dictum laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in its Judgment reported as 1997 SCMR 1508,” it stated.

The ECP asked the court to revoke the “interim relief” that the one-judge panel had decided to award on December 26.

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