Islamabad:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited the opposition chief to the National Assembly Omar Ayub for a meeting in order to discuss the appointment of the election commissioner (CEC) and other members of the Pakistan Electoral Commission (ECP).
Wednesday, in a letter, the PM stressed that the term CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja, as well as two other members, Nisar Ahmad Durrani from Sindh and Shah Muhammad Jatoi du Baloutchistan, ended on January 26. However, they continued to serve under article 215 of the Constitution.
The letter stressed that, according to article 218, the proposals for the new CEC and the members must be transmitted to the parliamentary committee.
The process of appointment of the CEC and the members of the PCE is described in article 213 of the Constitution, which requires that the Prime Minister and the Opposition Head are jointly propose three names to the President for approval.
In the event of disagreement between the two, the first Pinister and the head of the opposition will submit their individual appointments to a parliamentary committee.
Following this, the president of the National Assembly will establish a committee of 12 members, with an equal representation of government and opposition benches. The committee will then select a candidate to transmit to the president for approval, ideally by consensus.
Under article 217, if the mandate of the CEC expires, the highest -end member of the Commission will take on the functions of the chief election commissioner. If the upper member was not available, the next senior member will take control of responsibilities.
