PTI’s recalcitrant MPAs use technicalities to avoid ECP sanctions.

The 25 PTI dissidents in the Punjab Assembly highlighted largely technicalities in their responses to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to the declaration of defection, saying that the spirit of Article 63-A of the Constitution must not be undermined.

In their responses, PTI legislators attempted to hide behind relevant technicalities in order to avoid the ECP’s punitive action in relation to the declaration, while also attempting to defend their vote in favor of PML-N nominee Hamza Shehbaz, according to source.

They claimed they had received no voting instructions from any political party. They also chose to raise procedural objections, claiming that no show-cause notices had been issued or received.

Senator Barrister Ali Zafar, who represented the PTI before the ECP’s three-member bench led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, argued that the constitutional violation under Article 63-A requires a party directive on how to vote in a chief ministerial election, followed by a member of that political party voting against the directive. If this occurs, the crime is finished, and the party leader can declare that a member has defected.

Senator Ali Zafar stated that the election commission could only look into whether these two conditions were met before confirming the party leader’s statement. In this situation, the orders were issued, and all of the MPAs have admitted that.