ECP decides to notify Imran Khan as winner on 7 NA seats

ISLAMABAD – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday decided to declare PTI Chairman Imran Khan as the winning candidate from the seven National Assembly constituencies he won during by-elections in October last year.

A five-member bench of the ECP headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja announced the decision that was reserved on December 20 last year.

Imran had not submitted details of the party’s funding sources while contesting by-elections from NA-22, NA-24, NA-31, NA-108, NA-45, NA-118 and NA-249 in October last year.

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.

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.”

The case

A notice had been issued to the PTI in the prohibited funding case after the ECP ruled on Aug 2 that the party had received funding from “prohibited sources”.

The notice was issued as the Political Parties Order 2002 required that before taking punitive action against any party believed to be receiving illegal funds, a ‘show cause notice’ has to be issued to the party.

The PTI lawyer had challenged the show-cause notice and termed it illegal.

After hearing the two sides, the ECP reserved the judgement on the petition in December.