The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) submitted a review petition in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Saturday challenging the court’s suspension of its previous ruling that prevented the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), one of the three major political parties in Pakistan, from using a cricket bat as its electoral symbol in the upcoming February 8 general election.

The ECP argued in its review petition that the court’s verdict was against the law and Supreme Court dictum. The ECP also contended that the court’s powers were limited to its territorial jurisdiction, whereas the PTI’s symbol allocation was a national matter.

The ECP’s directive followed the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s ruling instructing the ECP to guarantee a free and fair electoral process for the upcoming February general elections. The ECP had suspended the PTI due to purported violations of the Election Act, 2017, and the PTI Constitution, 2019, and declared them ineligible to use the bat election symbol under Section 215 of the Election Act.

The ECP, endowed with full financial autonomy and insulation from government interference, is a permanent constitutional body responsible for supervising and safeguarding the fairness of elections for legislative bodies and local governments. Its core mission, outlined in Article 218(3) of the Pakistan Constitution, is to prevent corrupt practices. However, despite its mandated duties, the ECP has come under scrutiny for alleged bias by the PTI and other political parties. In response to the ECP’s suspension order, the PTI lodged a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court on December 23.

The submission of the review petition comes in the wake of the December 30 rejection of former Prime Minister and PTI founder Imran Khan’s nomination for the upcoming general elections.