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Imran Khan, the leader of the PTI, won seven National Assembly seats in 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 inability to provide information on the costs paid during the by-elections and deferred notification of his win 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 conducted 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 get two seats.
The ECP highlighted in its decision today that the former premier had provided the watchdog with the necessary information, allowing for the issue of the notice of his victory.
Anwar Mansoor Khan, the attorney for PTI, had pleaded with the ECP during the last hearing to provide 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 said 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 judgment on the case after hearing from both sides.
