PTI candidate unable to contest Chakwal by-poll

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will not be able to take part in the upcoming bye-election in PP-23, Chakwal, as it failed to conduct the mandatory intra-party election as per Section 11, 12 and 13 of the Political Parties Order, 2002. 

A senior official at the Election Commission Secretariat here confirmed to The News that PTI’s candidate Col (R) Sultan Surkhroo Awan was not eligible to be allotted an election symbol of the party (‘bat’) due to this illegality. The Election Commission can delist the party and also bar it from participating in general election next year. 

The Punjab Assembly’s seat had fallen vacant after the death of PML-N MPA Malik Zahoor Anwar and the bye-election is fixed for April 18 to fill this seat. Malik Sheharyar Awan is PML-N’s candidate while PPP has fielded Dr Ali Hassan Naqvi. Needless to say, the real contest will now be between the candidates of these two main parties.

 Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s senior leader Andleeb Abbas has made an appeal to the Supreme Court Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar to take suo moto notice of what she alleged violation of the Constitution by the federal government and provincial government of Punjab.

Through a letter, along with copies of the applications and courier slips, she made this appeal and said that the Prime Minister Secretariat did not reply to any of the seven applications, she wrote for information while the Chief Minister Punjab Secretariat refuted the information, sought by her without sharing certified evidence of denial. She wrote three applications to CM Secretariat.