A formal complaint has been filed with the Supreme Judicial Council against the chief election commissioner (CEC) and members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The complaint, lodged by Haleem Adil Shaikh, Noorul Haq Qureshi, and Shabbir Ahmed, accuses the ECP officials of failing to fulfill their constitutional duties and undermining the mandate of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and court decisions.
The complaint alleges that the CEC and ECP members have engaged in misconduct by attempting to subvert the PTI's electoral successes and court decisions. Specific charges include the appointment of politically motivated bureaucrats as returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs), which is claimed to have biased the electoral process.
Further allegations suggest that the chief election commissioner and the chief justice have been accused of manipulating election outcomes. According to the complaint, a former Rawalpindi commissioner revealed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was made to win by polling additional 70,000 votes for it in each constituency of Rawalpindi, raising questions about the legitimacy of the results.
Read more: SC not to hear PML-N review plea in reserved seat case for now
The complaint also accuses the election commission of stripping the PTI of its electoral symbol and denying its nominated members party representation. This action, according to the complaint, has affected over 120 million voters.
The complainants have urged the Supreme Judicial Council to investigate these allegations thoroughly. They have requested that if the inquiry confirms the charges, the dismissal of the chief election commissioner and the involved members should be recommended.
On Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced to implement the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) verdict in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) reserved seats case. Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja presided over a meeting of ECP members on Friday to deliberate on the matter.
Also Read: ECP decides to implement SC verdict on PTI reserved seats
The ECP decided to get direction from judges in chamber if any point of judicial decision becomes an obstruction in the execution of the SC order. “In case of any obstacle, the Supreme Court will be approached for further guidance,” the ECP declaration said.
The supreme electoral body strongly condemned the continuous criticism on the chief election commissioner and commission members by a political party. It also rejected the demand for resignation from the ECP and termed it ‘absurd’. The statement stated that ECP will continue to work as per the Constitution and the law regardless of any pressure.
It further maintained that the election commission did not misinterpret any decision and did not declare the PTI's intra-party election valid, as various forums upheld the decision of the ECP.
