ISLAMABAD, Jan 19 (FD): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday decided to issue a notification confirming PTI chief Imran Khan’s victory in by-elections on seven National Assembly seats that was earlier withheld for his alleged failure to submit details of the party’s funding to the electoral body.
A five-member bench of the Election Commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja, announced the verdict it had reserved last month.
The ECP had taken notice of the PTI chief’s failure to submit the details of election expenses for the constituencies he had contested in October 2022.
The PTI chief had contested by-polls on six seats — NA-22, NA-24, NA-31, NA-108, NA-118, and NA-239 — on October 16 while the election on NA-45 was held on October 30.
The verdict stated that Imran Khan has submitted the required details to the electoral body after which it decided to notify him as the winning candidate on all the seven National Assembly seats.
The electoral body had reserved its verdict in the case on December 20.
According to the election laws, “Every returned candidate shall, within five days from the date of the election, submit return of election expenses in accordance with the provision of section 29.”
“On receipt of the returns of the election under sub-section (3) of section 24, the Commission shall publish in the official Gazette the names of the returned candidates:
Provided that the name of a candidate shall not be published who fails to submit the return of election expenses as required by sub-section (3) of section 24.
On October 16, Khan contested from seven NA constituencies and won the by-polls in NA-31 Peshawar, NA-22 Mardan, NA-24 Charsadda, NA-108 Faisalabad-VIII, NA-118 Nankana Sahib-II and NA-239 Korangi, Karachi-I, after beating the ruling coalition’s candidates.
However, Khan lost the NA-237 Malir-II Karachi seat to PPP’s Hakeem Baloch in Karachi, and the other NA seat was lost by PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s daughter Meharbano Qureshi to PPP’s Musa Gilani, a son of PPP leader Yusuf Raza Gilani, in Multan.
These seats were vacated when the National Assembly speaker accepted the resignations of nine PTI MNAs, who had tendered resignations en masse as the party policy.
The NA-45 seat fell vacant after PTI MNA Malik Fakhar Zaman tendered his resignation.
