KARACHI, Aug 9: The Sindh High Court admitted on Thursday a writ petition moved by Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto against registration of two splinter groups of the party as ‘the PPP’.

The Election Commission allowed the merger and registration of the PPP (Patriots) and the PPP (Sherpao Group) vide its order of June 17, 2006, and the PPP leader promptly challenged the EC decision. Ms Bhutto said the registration was illegal and mala fide as the EC or the chief election commissioner had no authority under Articles 6 and 9 (B) of the Election Commission Order of 2002 to allow the two factions’ merger and registration as the main party.

Ms Bhutto said the PPP was registered under the Political Parties Act, 1962, as far back as 1971 and had since been contesting polls with an election symbol allocated to it as party. The PPP request for re-registration under the new law was pending when the registration of the merged factions was allowed. No notice of the registration of factions was issued by the Election Commission to the PPP.

Asked by the bench comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Faisal Arab whether the PPP (Patriots) was registered as a party for the 2002 general election, Advocate Farooq H. Naek, the petitioner’s counsel, said the ‘Patriots’ contested the polls on PPP tickets. Later they defected to the ruling coalition to elect Zafarullah Khan Jamali as prime minister, who landed the office with a majority of one vote. It was to protect the membership of ‘Patriots’ that Article 63 (A), the anti-defection provision of the Constitution, was held in abeyance for some time even after the restoration of the Constitution.

Admitting the petition for regular hearing from Sept 5, the bench issued notices to the EC and the respondent groups registered as PPP for that date.