Says Justice (retd) Mansoor Ali Shah presents selective interpretation of judicial record
Election Commission of Pakistan building in Islamabad. Photo: Radio Pakistan
ISLAMABAD’:
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday objected to remarks made by former Supreme Court senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah regarding the PTI reserved seats case, saying his comments ignored basic constitutional and legal facts.
During an event organised by the US-based Community Alliance for Peace and Justice on October 29, Shah defended the Supreme Court’s 2024 reserved seats verdict, under which the PTI was declared eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities, dealing a setback to the ruling coalition.
Shah maintained that PTI was a political party and that depriving it of its election symbol was wrong and illegal. He recalled that the reserved seats decision was one that “nobody liked”.
Rejecting this position, the ECP said the allocation of an election symbol was subject to the holding of transparent intra-party elections under Sections 208 and 209 of the Elections Act 2017.
The commission added that the PTI conducted intra-party elections after five years, but the proceedings remained pending before it because the party had obtained a stay order from a high court. It clarified that the PTI continued to be enlisted as a political party in its records.
Regarding the allocation of reserved seats, the ECP said only political parties that contested general elections were eligible for such seats. It added that parties were required to submit lists of preferred candidates before the elections, whereas the PTI had not submitted any such list.
