ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has allowed the Awami National Party (ANP) to run in the upcoming general elections with its electoral symbol ‘Lantern’ though the party failed to hold intra-party elections, another visible evidence of how the electoral body has been biased and prejudiced towards Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which is now knocking at Courts’ doors even for its survival.
The ECP hadn’t allotted symbols to around a dozen political parties including PTI and ANP due to legal deficiencies.
Though PTI conducted intra-party elections as required under the Elections Act 2017 but the ECP declared the polls null and void, and deprived the party of its electoral symbol ‘bat’.
Even the Peshawar High Court (PHC) twice declared illegal the ECP’s decision to revoke the PTI’s ‘bat’ electoral symbol and reject its intra-party polls. But yet the ECP didn’t allot bat symbol to PTI and went on to approach the Supreme Court of Pakistan to overturn PHC’s verdict and bar PTI from vying in the elections as a political party.
On the other hand, the ANP even didn’t conduct the intra-party elections at all and thus became ineligible to obtain election symbol under the law.
Yet the ECP has ruled that ANP is permitted to contest the February 8 elections on the lantern symbol after paying a fine of Rs 20,000. The Commission also asked ANP to hold the intra-party elections by May 10, 2024.
 has allowed the Awami National Party (ANP) to run in the upcoming general elections with its electoral symbol ‘Lantern’.){kind=link}