ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) internal party elections that were originally set for Monday, February 5th, have been rescheduled.
Barrister Gohar Khan, the party’s chairman, claims that Imran Khan, the PTI’s founder, gave the order for the announcement.
“Intra-party elections can divert the attention of candidates and voters from the general elections,” the head of the PTI stated.
The party appears to be in a state of flux with only a few days till the general elections on February 8th. This is especially true after months of legal disputes with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) prevented it from receiving its customary electoral emblem, the “bat.”
The party’s central media section shared the appointment of spokesperson Raoof Hasan as the federal election commissioner for the polls in an official timetable that was made public one day earlier on Thursday.
“The PTI Federal Election Commission is pleased to announce the Election Schedule for the Intra-party Elections (IPE) of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to elect the Chairman, Central and Provincial Organisations,” the announcement continued.
PTI founding member Akbar S. Babar contested the results of the polls and asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to force the Imran Khan-led party to hold new elections, which sparked controversy around PTI’s earlier intra-party polls.
After voting in Peshawar on December 2 to choose the party’s new office holders, including a candidate to succeed outgoing chairman Imran, the party’s members supported Barrister Gohar Khan, the former PTI chief’s attorney, who had put himself forward for the important position.
Following the election, Babar defied the polls and pushed the electoral body to address the anomalies. The senior politician continued by saying that, in light of the ruling by the high court, he and other founding leaders remain members of the party.
