Election Commission of Pakistan withdraws TLP’s ‘crane’ symbol

The Election Commission of Pakistan has withdrawn the “crane” election symbol from Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, making the party the second major political group after the PTI to lose its allotted symbol over questions about intra-party elections, according to a monitored public feed.

A five-member bench of the ECP headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja ruled that the TLP had not met the requirements of Section 209 of the Elections Act, 2017. In its order, the commission said the party was being declared ineligible to obtain an election symbol, and that the crane symbol was withdrawn in light of the rejection of the party’s intra-party election record.

The decision follows the commission’s view that the TLP did not hold valid intra-party elections within the required framework. The ECP noted that the party’s previous intra-party elections had expired on Dec 28, 2025. After months of delays and rejected requests for more time, the party submitted fresh election documents on July 6, 2026.

The commission rejected those documents, describing the exercise as “imaginary/fictitious” and noting that it had been completed in 11 days without proper intimation. During the hearings, TLP representatives also said they had no contact with their leader, a statement that appeared to conflict with the party’s claim that he had supervised the process.

The ruling effectively strips the party of the symbol it uses on ballot papers, a significant development in Pakistan’s electoral process where symbols can play an important role in voter recognition. The ECP’s order places the TLP alongside the PTI in losing its poll symbol in similar circumstances tied to intra-party election requirements.

The report is based on a monitored public feed and is attributed to Dawn Pakistan.

Source: Dawn Pakistan - https://www.dawn.com/news/2017165/election-commission-of-pakistan-withdraws-tlps-crane-symbol