ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub for a meeting to discuss the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
In a letter on Wednesday, the PM highlighted that the term of CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja, along with two other members, Nisar Ahmad Durrani from Sindh and Shah Muhammad Jatoi from Balochistan, ended on January 26. However, they have continued to serve under Article 215 of the Constitution.
The letter pointed out that, according to Article 218, proposals for the new CEC and members must be forwarded to the parliamentary committee.
The appointment process for the CEC and members of the ECP is outlined in Article 213 of the Constitution, which mandates that the prime minister and the leader of the opposition jointly propose three names to the president for approval.
In case of disagreement between the two, the prime pinister and opposition leader will submit their individual nominations to a parliamentary committee.
Following this, the National Assembly speaker will establish a 12-member committee, with equal representation from both the government and opposition benches. The committee will then select one nominee to forward to the President for approval, ideally by consensus.
Under Article 217, if the CEC’s term expires, the senior-most member of the Commission will assume the duties of the Chief Election Commissioner. Should the senior member be unavailable, the next senior member will take over the responsibilities.
