PTI Files SJC Reference to Oust CEC, ECP Members Over Pre-Poll Rigging Allegations
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as a political party and through its leader, Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Omar Ayub Khan, has filed a reference before the Supreme Judicial Council against Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and the members of the Election Commission, namely Member Punjab Babar Bharwana, Member Sindh Ahmed Durrani, Member Balochistan Shah Mohammad Jatoi, and Member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Justice (Retd.) Ikramullah Khan. The reference requested for their removal from office and legal action to be taken against them in accordance with the law.
The reference alleges that the Election Commission engaged in pre-election rigging during the general elections by restricting internet access, imposing censorship on PTI, refusing to provide Form 45 for the preliminary results, and barring PTI polling agents from entering polling stations in 46 out of 66 constituencies in Punjab.SECP and FPCCI Host Awareness Seminar on Corporatization and Digitization
Furthermore, it asserts that PTI’s election camps were dismantled in the constituencies of Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, and Maryam Nawaz, while PTI polling agents were prevented from entering those areas.
It is further contended that PTI’s female leaders and candidates were imprisoned, and PTI’s candidates, proposers, and seconders were allegedly abducted to prevent them from filing nomination papers.
The reference also accuses the Election Commission of banning PTI leadership from media coverage, sealing crucial PTI offices, preventing election campaigns, appointing politically biased Returning Officers, unlawfully rejecting nomination papers, removing voters’ names from electoral rolls, and violating explicit Supreme Court directives.
The reference asserts that the Election Commission implemented a pre-planned scheme to disqualify former Prime Minister and former PTI Chairman, Mr. Imran Khan, and to remove him from his position as PTI Chairman, thereby rendering him politically inactive and causing harm to PTI as a political party.
It is claimed that the first step in this unconstitutional and unlawful scheme, in violation of Article 218 of the Constitution, was to unseat Mr. Imran Khan from his National Assembly seat (Mianwali). This action was allegedly taken at the behest of the Speaker of the National Assembly, who belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The Speaker had referred a case under Article 63(1) of the Constitution, falsely accusing Mr. Imran Khan of failing to declare certain gifts received during his tenure.
The reference argues that the said reference was unconstitutional, as the Election Commission is not a court of law with the authority to disqualify a Member of Parliament.
However, in clear violation of the law and its own order dated 19-12-2023, the Election Commission declared that Mr. Imran Khan had misdeclared his assets and disqualified him from holding a National Assembly seat.
Moreover, the Election Commission, acting with mala fide intent, pursued a criminal case against Mr. Khan within the same order dated 19-12-2023, aimed at further disqualifying him from contesting future elections. This illegal and malicious decision of the Election Commission was challenged before the Islamabad High Court.
During the pendency of the writ petition, the Election Commission issued another notice seeking to remove Mr. Imran Khan from the chairmanship of PTI.
Consequently, another writ petition was filed before the Lahore High Court, which remains pending before a full bench of the court. The reference highlights that the Election Commission, in pursuit of its grand scheme to undermine PTI and Mr. Imran Khan, has consistently defended its illegal orders before both the Islamabad High Court and the Lahore High Court.
Furthermore, as per the order of Justice Aamer Farooq dated 06-12-2023, it was decided that the matter would not be withdrawn. Mr. Imran Khan has challenged the said order of the Islamabad High Court before the Supreme Court of Pakistan through CPLA No. 27/2024, which is still pending adjudication.
The reference further alleges that the Election Commission has acted with malice in its persistent efforts to politically eliminate Mr. Imran Khan, despite him being the most popular leader in Pakistan.
It is argued that the Election Commission is required to maintain neutrality, yet its decisions and active litigation against Mr. Imran Khan demonstrate clear bias, aimed at ensuring his removal from the political landscape. Such evident partisanship, the reference claims, forms the basis for the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commission members.
The reference also reiterates that the Election Commission’s illegal and mala fide decisions were challenged before the Islamabad High Court. During the proceedings, the Election Commission not only persisted in defending its unlawful actions but also sought to further disqualify Mr. Imran Khan from contesting elections.
In pursuit of this goal, the Election Commission, acting as a prosecutor, filed a criminal complaint against Mr. Imran Khan before a Special Judge, which led to his conviction on 28-08-2023. However, this conviction is currently subject to a criminal appeal (No. 273/2023), where the sentence has been suspended. The Islamabad High Court has not yet set aside the conviction, for which a constitutional petition has been filed before the Supreme Court.
The reference asserts that the Election Commission, acting unlawfully and with clear bias, passed an order under Section 231 of the Elections Act, 2017, disqualifying Mr. Imran Khan from contesting elections for five years.
This action, it is argued, was illegal and demonstrated mala fide intent, as the recent amendments to Section 231 explicitly stripped the Election Commission of any authority to disqualify individuals from contesting elections.
The reference further contends that the Election Commission manipulated the prohibited funding case against PTI and deliberately delayed its investigation, while failing to initiate similar investigations against other political parties, despite the clear instructions of the Supreme Court. It is noted that, to date, inquiries into the financial matters of other political parties remain pending, reflecting the Election Commission’s blatant bias against PTI.
The reference highlights that while Chartered Accountants raised concerns over the financial accounts of other political parties, the Election Commission ignored those concerns, whereas PTI, despite having no financial irregularities according to Chartered Accountants, was still unfairly targeted.
This, the reference argues, establishes clear grounds for the dismissal of the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commission members.
It is further alleged that, in continuation of its scheme against PTI, the Election Commission passed unconstitutional orders denying PTI its share of reserved seats for women and minorities, instead allocating them to other political parties.
The basis of this decision was the claim that PTI’s list of reserved seat candidates had expired, and the party could not submit a fresh list. The reference argues that this action was unconstitutional and aimed solely at damaging PTI. PTI challenged this order before the Lahore High Court through Writ Petition No. 34648/2022, which ruled that the Election Commission’s decision was unconstitutional and unlawful.
The reference also argues that the Election Commission, acting with mala fide intent, stripped PTI of its electoral symbol, the ‘bat,’ to confuse voters and coerce PTI candidates into contesting elections as independents. It is alleged that the purpose of this move was to create post-election instability and make it easier to manipulate candidates into switching allegiances. It is stated that despite these obstacles, PTI fielded candidates across nearly all constituencies, though they were not officially recognized as PTI candidates by the Election Commission.
The reference further contends that PTI’s intra-party election, held for the third time on 03-03-2024, is still not being accepted by the Election Commission, which has deliberately kept its decision on the matter pending.
The reference concludes by urging the Supreme Judicial Council to take action against the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commission members, asserting that they have continuously acted with mala fide intent against PTI and its founder, and thus must be held accountable under the law.
