LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday overruled an office objection on a petition of the PTI against the power of the ECP to withdraw the election symbol of a political party.

PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan and others filed the petition.

The petitioners stated that section 215 of the Elections Act 2017, which provides for eligibility of a party to obtain election symbols, is against the Constitution.

They pleaded that the right to contest the election under a common symbol cannot be taken away from the candidates of a political party.

They said the ECP is not a court or a tribunal, therefore, any power wrongly assumed by it for taking away fundamental rights is illegal.

The registrar office had objected to the maintainability of the petition and asked the petitioners to approach the Islamabad High Court.

The court, however, overruled the office's objection and instructed registrar to fix the petition for hearing before any appropriate bench.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024