A day after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued a revised list showing Asfandyar Wali Khan as the Awami National Party (ANP) president, the ECP notified the results of the ANP’s intra-party elections, which were delayed by a year.
While the updated list on the ECP website still lists Asfandyar Wali Khan as the party leader, the official notification now recognizes Aimal Wali Khan as the president, about three and a half months after the elections took place.
This delay in issuing the notification is another instance of the ECP’s failure to adhere to legal requirements. According to Section 209 (1) of the Elections Act, political parties must submit a certificate to the ECP within seven days of completing their intra-party elections, confirming that the elections were conducted in accordance with the party’s constitution. The ECP is then required to publish this certificate on its website within seven days of receipt.
Despite the ANP’s failure to meet this legal requirement, the ECP allowed the party to participate in the elections with its “Lantern” symbol on January 13. This decision came after the ECP had previously delisted 13 parties for similar failures and imposed a Rs20,000 fine on the ANP, instructing it to hold intra-party elections by May 10, well after the February 8 general elections.
The ECP’s decision to permit the ANP to use its symbol without holding intra-party elections has raised questions, particularly given that other parties, like PTI, were not given similar concessions.
The ECP had previously noted that the ANP’s last intra-party elections were held in May 2019, and with a four-year term for office-bearers, this term had expired over eight months ago. The ECP’s verdict, reserved on December 21, 2023, was announced on the final day for symbol allocation to candidates.
Sections 208, 209, and 210 of the Elections Act, 2017, were invoked to delist over a dozen parties for not meeting the legal requirements to receive poll symbols. A five-member ECP bench, led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, had earlier denied the ANP’s request for a six-month extension to conduct its intra-party elections, raising doubts about the party’s ability to contest the upcoming general elections with its symbol.
