On the electoral landscape, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders find themselves with diverse symbols, a consequence of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to strip the party of its iconic ‘bat’ symbol. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling, overturning the Peshawar High Court’s verdict and validating the ECP’s plea to declare PTI’s intra-party setup “unconstitutional,” significantly impacted the party weeks before the February 8 polls. The loss of a recognizable symbol poses challenges in a nation where the majority of constituencies, within a population of 241 million people, are situated in rural areas with lower literacy rates.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa announced the ruling in a late-night telecast, leading to PTI members contesting as independents. Prominent PTI leaders in Lahore, such as Yasmin Rashid, Salman Akram Raja, Latif Khosa, and Mian Azhar, now have distinct symbols like ‘laptop,’ ‘racquet,’ English letter ‘K,’ and ‘wicket,’ respectively.
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PTI senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s children, Mehr Bano Qureshi and Zain Hussain Qureshi, received symbols ‘tongs’ and ‘shoe’ for their respective constituencies in Multan. Umair Niazi will contest with the symbol ‘door’ in Mianwali’s NA-90 seat, while Shoaib Shaheen has been given a ‘shoe’ for Islamabad’s NA-46 constituency.
In other constituencies, Shandana Gulzar is represented by ‘bowl’ in Peshawar’s NA-30, and Barrister Gohar Ali Khan is symbolized by a ‘kettle’ in Buner’s NA-10. Jamshed Dasti, running in Muzaffargarh, has ‘harmonium’ for NA-175 and ‘aeroplane’ for NA-176.
The significance of electoral symbols is evident in their representation of parties and candidates. While PTI grapples with this change, other major parties like PMLN, PPPP, JI, PTI-Nazaryati, IPP, MQM-P, and TLP retain their familiar symbols such as ‘lion,’ ‘arrow,’ ‘scale,’ ‘batsman,’ ‘eagle,’ ‘kite,’ and ‘crane,’ respectively. The deadline for symbol allotment for the February 8 general elections was January 13.
