ECP objects to retired SC judge's remarks about 2023 ruling on polls in Punjab and KP, reserved seats case

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) took issue with former Supreme Court judge Mansoor Ali Shah's comments at a US-based event on October 29, 2023, about a 2023 Supreme Court ruling on elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and a reserved seats case concerning the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Shah's remarks, which he made during the Community Alliance for Peace and Justice event, were contested by the ECP as they disregarded fundamental constitutional and legal principles pertaining to electoral matters and judicial decisions.

Shah had contended that the Supreme Court's 2023 majority decision, which approved the holding of elections within 90 days in Punjab and KP, was a 4-3 verdict, challenging the legitimacy of the ECP's authority to conduct the polls. The ECP disagreed, stating that the election ruling was actually a 3-2 decision, with Shah's two dissents as the deciding factor.

They also criticized Shah's assertion that the ECP could not have held elections, as the party was required to hold intra-party elections for its symbol, which it failed to do by the stipulated deadline of June 30, 2021. The ECP affirmed that the PTI's election symbol was subsequently withdrawn, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in 2025 despite the party's unsuccessful attempts to review the ruling.