Commission members to be picked on July 25

ISLAMABAD: The government and the opposition on Friday separately submitted their lists containing probable names for appointment as members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) with the National Assembly speaker.

A parliamentary committee having equal representation from both sides of the House will take up the matter on July 25 (Monday) for final selection of candidates -- most probably on the same day. The two lists contain 12 names of probable ECP members each.

Earlier, both the government and the opposition had failed to arrive at consensus on the candidates. The election commission has become non-functional after all its four members completed their five-year constitutional term on June 12.

Articles 213 and 218 of the Constitution outline the process for appointments of the CEC and ECP members, respectively. The constitution mandates the government to complete the election commission by filling the offices of its members within the stipulated period of 45 days which in this case is falling on July 25.

A statement issued by the office of the opposition leader said that “as consensus could not be achieved with the government on the issue, a list consisting of names of 12-members (three each from each province) from the opposition leader is forwarded for consideration to the parliamentary committee.

In a statement, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the government had also forwarded 12 names for consideration by the parliamentary committee. The committee will meet at 10.30am on July 25.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 23^rd, 2016.