Islamabad: The constitutional deadline for the appointment of the new electoral commissioner and two electoral commissions of Pakistan members expired Wednesday, without any government action in sight.
The five -year terms of the main election commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, the member of Sindh Nisar Durrani and the member of Baluchistan, Shah Muhammad Jatoi, ended on January 26, but will continue to maintain the offices under a controversial amendment made in the Constitution in October last year.
The amendment 26 allowed the CEC and the members to continue until their successors enter. According to article 215 (4) of the Constitution, the appointment of the CEC and the members must be completed within 45 days. This period expired on March 12, but no concrete measures have been taken.
The parliamentary committee, which is essential to end the appointments, has not been formed despite an earlier announcement by the president of the National Assembly.
The five -year mandate of Sikandar Raja ended on January 26, but will continue to occupy the position indefinitely due to a constitutional amendment ‘disputed’
The Government has remained silent about the matter, and they have not advanced for the formation of the parliamentary committee required for these appointments.
The appointment process requires a consultation between the prime minister and the opposition leader, who must agree on the nominees for the three vacancies.
If a consensus is reached, the proposed names are sent to the parliamentary committee for approval. In case of disagreement, each side presents three names per position, and the Committee makes the final decision.
The breakdown of the representation of the opposition includes three members of PML-N, one of PPP and one of MQM, while PTI will have five members, and Jui-F. However, the Committee has not yet been formed, causing more delays in the appointment process.
In the midst of this dead point, informed sources said that PTI has begun consultations on how to address the courts for the delay. The PTI has also sought nominations of other opposition parties and plans to propose names accordingly.
The sources said the discussions were underway in government circles on the re -election of Sikandar Sultan Raja as CEC.
The Constitution does not say if a seated CEC can be appointed again. However, according to article 216 (2) of the Constitution, the CEC and the ECP members occupy a profitable position for two years after completing their mandate.
If the government advances with the re -election of Mr. Raja, a legal debate is expected to arise.
Criteria for citations
The former judges of the Supreme Court, technocrats and bureaucrats under 68 are eligible for their consideration for the CEC position, while judges, bureaucrats and technocrats retired from the CEC are eligible to become members of the Electoral Commission.
The term of Mr. Raja is characterized by controversies. He is often criticized for the opposition for his inability to celebrate timely general elections, denying PTI his iconic survey symbol of ‘bat’ and playing a key role in the supposed manipulation of electoral results.
The distrust of him had been expressed long before the delayed general elections 2024. In July 2022, the Punjab assembly approved a resolution that expresses doubts about the neutrality of the ECP.
The resolution requested that Raja and the other members of the Commission renounce, demanding an impartial and reliable electoral body to guarantee free and fair elections.
In December 2023, the PTI questioned the appointment of bureaucrats as officials who return and officers return, arguing that such appointments could result in biased and unfair decisions.
Initially, the Superior Court of Lahore suspended the decision of the ECP, but the Supreme Court, later revoked this ruling, allowing the appointments to continue. Subsequently, several PTI leaders rejected their nomination documents, which led the party to accuse the ECP of the appearance prior to the survey.
The current ECP is also criticized for not implementing the Supreme Court judgment on reserved seats and not holding Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A day earlier, the opposition leader in Senate Shibli Faraz had asked the trial of the members of CEC and ECP under article 6 of the Constitution.
Posted in Dawn, March 13, 2025
