ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) has submitted the results of its recently-held controversial intra-party elections and other required documents to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), asking it to issue a certificate in this regard as early as possible.

“All required documents of the intra-party elections were filed before the ECP today. As general elections schedule is to be announced anytime soon, the ECP is ought to publish our certificate at the earliest this time,” writes newly-elected PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on his official social media account on X, previously known as Twitter, on Monday.

Meanwhile, a PTI spokesman in a statement castigated caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi over his remarks about the PTI’s intra-party elections, alleging that his statement had put a stamp on his “prejudiced and biased character”.

Barrister Gohar and all other PTI office-bearers had been elected unopposed in the intra-party elections held on Saturday on the directives of the ECP.

Party to kick off poll campaign at workers’ convention in Peshawar; says caretaker govt ‘biased and prejudiced’ towards PTI

The PTI’s opponents have been criticising the party for the manners in which the intra-party elections were conducted, terming it a “selection, not an election”. The leaders of the country’s mainstream parties have demanded that the ECP take notice of the “faulty and rigged” intra-party elections.

Akbar S. Babar, one of the founding members of the PTI, has already announced that he would approach the ECP against how the intra-party polls were conducted.

Election campaign

Meanwhile, the members of the PTI’s core-committee on Monday decided to expedite the election campaign and announced that the party would soon hold a workers’ convention in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The committee has also shown concerns over a decision to take returning officers from administration, rather than judiciary.

A PTI spokesman on Monday lashed out at Mr Solangi for his remarks about intra-party polls.

Speaking at a programme on ARY News on Sunday, the information minister had reportedly said that the PTI was criticising the caretaker government without realising that it had itself appointed a party caretaker chairman (Mr Gohar). He had further said that the PTI was demanding free and fair elections without looking at its own intra-party elections.

The party spokesperson said that the PTI was the only political party that buried the traditional hereditary and dynastic politics by introducing new and capable faces into the political landscape of the country.

The PTI spokesperson said Mr Solangi did not have any constitutional and moral justification to give statement against internal affairs of any political party, adding that his statement questioning PTI intra-party election showed his bias.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2023