‘One of us’: G-B lawmakers threaten poll boycott

Minister says region has plenty of competent people for CEC’s post.


Shabbir Mir November 13, 2014

GILGIT: Lawmakers in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) have threatened to boycott polls scheduled for next year if a non-local is appointed as the chief election commissioner (CEC) in the region.

“We may boycott elections if the election commissioner is an ‘imported’ one,” Law Minister Ali Madad Sher told reporters at the legislative assembly’s premises on Thursday. “We firmly believe that the person should be from G-B as we have competent people for the job,” he said.



Sher added like the rest of the country, it was G-B’s right to have an election commissioner from its own region.

His remarks came a day after the G-B legislative assembly passed a similar resolution that called for the appointment of a CEC from the region.

On Wednesday, lawmakers in the assembly rejected the idea that a CEC appointed by the federal government may conduct G-B’s elections
next year.

A treasury bench lawmaker, Syed Raziuddin, also criticised the government for failing to appoint a CEC despite the fact that the government was nearing the end of its tenure.

Chief Minister Mehdi Shah, while talking to reporters on Thursday, said he would write a letter to the federal government to inform it about reservations voiced by lawmakers over the possible appointment of a non-local CEC.

Shah referred to one of his recent meetings with G-B Governor Pir Karam Ali Shah, saying it was decided that a list of potential candidates would be forwarded to the federal government.

“The list contained names of candidates from G-B, but I don’t know if some non-locals were part of it.”

The government, which will complete its five-year term on December 10, 2014, has already announced it would hold elections under the biometric system to ensure transparency.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2014.

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