Barrister Gohar Ali Khan secured an uncontested election as the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday, as reported by Geo News. Remarkably, he achieved the unique distinction of being elected to the position twice within the PTI, as his rival panel withdrew from the race. In an official statement, the PTI declared, “At the conclusion of the withdrawal phase of candidates/panels, there is only one candidate/panel remaining.”
Omar Ayub Khan also emerged as the uncontested Central General Secretary for the PTI, as announced by the party on Thursday, according to Geo News. Additionally, Yasmin Rashid, Ali Amin Gandapur, and Haleem Adil Sheikh secured unopposed elections to the positions of the party’s presidents for Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh, respectively, as no contenders stepped forward against them.
While an intra-party election in Quetta for the Balochistan president’s position is scheduled, the final results will be declared by the Federal Election Commissioner on March 3, 2024, concluding the election process, as per the PTI statement.
The PTI undertook intra-party elections again after the Supreme Court, in February, upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision, leading to the loss of the party’s electoral ‘bat’ symbol, as reported by Geo News. Former PTI chief Imran Khan, facing various legal challenges, nominated Barrister Gohar Ali Khan for the position.
Following intra-party polls on December 2, the PTI faced controversy, resulting in the loss of its ‘bat’ symbol for the February 8 election, based on irregularities in their internal polls, according to the ECP. Despite winning the majority of seats, the PTI chose opposition benches, declining coalition alliances with rivals PML-N and PPP.
PTI-affiliated candidates aligned with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) in the lower house and provincial assemblies to retain reserved seats, reported Geo News. Founding member Akbar S Babar, who contested PTI’s internal polls in 2023, announced plans to challenge the latest intra-party elections on March 3, citing a lack of legal basis for the exercise.