Imran Khan, the leader of the PTI, won seven NA by-elections on Thursday, according to a notification released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which had previously been withheld because Khan allegedly failed to provide the electoral body with information about the party’s funding.
The verdict was made public by a five-person ECP council led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja on December 20 of last year.
The electoral watchdog had noted Imran’s failure to provide information regarding the costs paid during the by-elections and deferred notification of his victory as a result of non-compliance with the commission’s instructions.
The PTI leader ran in by-elections for six of the eight National Assembly seats on October 16, 2022, while the election for NA-45 was held on October 30. These seats were NA-22, NA-24, NA-31, NA-108, NA-118, and NA-239.
He had won with seven seats, while the PPP had only been able to secure two seats.
The ECP highlighted in its decision today that the former premier had provided the watchdog with all necessary information, allowing for the issue of the notification of his victory.
Anwar Mansoor Khan, the attorney for PTI, had pleaded with the ECP during the previous hearing to grant him access to cross-examine witnesses, including the bank managers who provided PTI’s bank statements under the direction of the State Bank of Pakistan.
The ECP’s legal counsel had claimed that the investigative process had been over, and even though the PTI had participated in it for four years before the inspection committee and for eight years before the ECP, it had never called for the witnesses to be put through a cross-examination.
On December 20, the ECP reserved judgement on the case after hearing from both sides.
