President’s approval: Fakhruddin G Ebrahim appointed new CEC

The respected jurist will take charge of the ECP for next five years.

ISLAMABAD:

President Asif Ali Zardari formally approved the appointment of Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Friday – three days after a parliamentary panel selected him for the crucial post.

President Zardari put his signature on a summary forwarded by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on the basis of recommendations by a 12-member bipartisan, bicameral parliamentary committee.

Ebrahim, one of the country’s most respected jurists, will take charge of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for next five years anytime now after this procedural development.

He will be the 24th individual to occupy the post after 12 permanent and 11 acting chief election commissioners.

He will take over from Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, a senior judge of the Supreme Court who was named acting CEC by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry after the retirement of Justice (retd) Hamid Ali Mirza on March 23, this year.

President Zardari put his signature on the summary at a ceremony in his presidential palace, which several ministers and government officials attended.

He further called the selection of Ebrahim as the CEC of “absolute importance for credible elections”.

The president also felicitated Ebrahim, saying his consensus-based nomination by all political parties was a reflection of his standing and the confidence placed in him.

Upcoming polls

Lying ahead for the elderly lawyer is the huge challenge of holding the upcoming parliamentary polls in a free, fair and transparent manner.

This is exactly what Ebrahim, commonly known as Fakhru Bhai, said he wanted to accomplish as last “big thing” in life.

Following the official notification, the ECP has been completed with four members already appointed on the recommendations of the same parliamentary panel.

The ECP has announced it has prepared the electoral rolls on the basis of which the elections are supposed to be held.

Although the elections are scheduled be held after March 2013 when the present government completes its term, many believe they will be called for later this year with the executive-judiciary tug-of-war intensifying.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2012.