Daily Times

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will hold a fresh round of intra-party elections on March 3 as per the schedule released by the party.

According to the schedule, nomination papers for the intra-party elections can be submitted on February 23 and 24, with the scrutiny of documents scheduled for February 25.

Decisions regarding the candidacy papers for PTI intra-party elections will be finalised by February 27, while the polling is scheduled for March 3. Polling will take place in all provincial secretariats, including the central office. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar and General Secretary PTI Omar Ayub did not join the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). Both Gohar and Ayub will be part of the assembly as independent members, revealed sources. Gohar is a candidate for the post of chairman, while Ayub is a candidate for general secretary. Previously, on February 2, a day after PTI announced the schedule for fresh inter-party polls, the party opted to postpone them until after February 8.

The decision was attributed to the commitments of members in their respective constituencies and alleged “unlawful blocking of PTI venues by the administration”.

Ahead of the polls, the Supreme Court had stripped the party of its symbol, upholding the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to declare PTI’s internal polls as “unconstitutional.”

Consequently, the party lost its iconic ‘bat’ electoral symbol, compelling its members to contest elections as independent candidates under different symbols. Furthermore, PTI forfeited the right to reserved seats for women and minorities. In the aftermath of the general elections on February 8, a significant number of PTI-backed independent candidates emerged victorious. However, due to the altered political landscape, the party had to forge an alliance with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to secure reserved seats.