In a first, woman makes it to ECP

Three former judges, retired bureaucrat appointed as ECP members

ISLAMABAD: After over a month of bickering with the opposition, the government has notified three former judges and a retired bureaucrat as members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). But a controversy marred the decision, as two opposition groups accused the ruling party of cutting a deal with the PPP – the largest opposition party.

Of the four names selected by a bipartisan 12-member parliamentary committee on Monday, one is a woman. And this is the first time a woman has become a member of the country’s top poll supervisory body. After failing to evolve a consensus, the government and the opposition had forwarded 12 names each to the parliamentary panel.



Justice (retd) Altaf Ibrahim Qureshi was appointed the member from Punjab; Justice (retd) Irshad Qaiser from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; former federal secretary Abdul Ghaffar Soomro from Sindh; and Justice (retd) Shakeel Ahmed Baloch from Balochistan.

The names were officially announced in a notification, following their endorsement by the parliamentary panel. But the PTI and ANP termed the selection a ‘muk maka’ (underhand deal) between the PML-N and the PPP.

During the meeting that lasted about one hour, the ANP abstained from voting on all four appointments while the Imran Khan-led PTI refused to vote on the choice of members from Punjab and K-P. The party had suggested the name of former bureaucrat Tariq Khosa for ECP member from Punjab.



While talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Shireen Mazari said it was unfortunate to see the name of Khosa excluded from the list of nominees forwarded by the opposition.

The PTI had recommended Justice (retd) Mian Fasihul Mulk for the ECP member slot from K-P, where the party has its own government. His name was also ignored by the parliamentary committee, though it was among the 12 nominees of the opposition.

Mazari claimed the PTI had been ignored while selecting the members from Punjab and K-P, leading to her decision to abstain from voting. She represented the PTI in place of Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who did not attend the meeting for unspecified reasons.

However, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar rejected Mazari’s claims, saying the PTI should blame the PPP if it had any grievances.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, he said the leader of the house and the opposition leader made the nominations after consulting their respective sides.

PTI chief Imran Khan also expressed his reservations over the whole process of appointments. “After the controversial 2013 general elections and the negative remarks of the judicial commission on election commissioners about the recently retired ECP member for Punjab, one was hoping for better changes,” he said in a statement.

ANP senator Daud Khan Achakzai, who represented his party on the parliamentary panel, claimed neither the opposition nor the government had taken his party into confidence at any level during the process.

Daunting tasks ahead

The top poll body had been inoperative since June 12 when its four members retired. The Constitution provides for appointment of their successors within 45 days of their retirement. The constitutional timeframe of 45 days expired on July 25.

The newly constituted ECP would have to deal with tricky political matters. A number of opposition parties, including the PPP and the PTI, have filed separate petitions with the poll body, seeking disqualification of the prime minister over the Panama leaks.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2016.