While claiming that the ‘desire for consensus’ led to a failure in appointing a permanent chief election commissioner (CEC), leader of opposition in the National Assembly has said the new CEC will be selected before the deadline set by the apex court.
“Because of time constraints, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and I have not been able to have a one-on-one meeting but we will finish this task before December 1,” Syed Khurshid Shah told media persons on Friday.
The Supreme Court’s three-judge bench – headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk – asked the government and opposition on November 24 to appoint the new CEC by December 1. It had warned that in case of further delay, the court might issue notice to prime minister and leader of opposition. The court had also notified that its judge Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali will cease to act as acting CEC from December 5.
Responding to a question, Shah confessed that he was still confused which candidate is suitable for this slot. “Former chief justice Tassadaq Hussain Jillani was the best choice but because of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s remarks, he opted out of the race,” he said, adding that Imran criticises each and every proposed candidate.
Shah also held the government responsible for not amending the Constitution to enable selection of a suitable and energetic candidate for CEC from outside the pool of former top judges.
“The restriction to choose only a judge as the CEC is not suitable because most judges are aged and the slot of the CEC is more demanding. We want to see a younger, energetic and committed person on this post,” he added.
He said he approached the apex court to seek permission to amend the Constitution but despite assurance by Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP), the government could not initiate the process of a constitutional amendment.
“I can say now after failure of the AGP, that we will pick one from among the proposed retired judges,” he said.
Shah said they tried to consult each political party for reaching a consensus on the future CEC, adding that they had told Jamaat-e-Islami about the reservation they had on the candidate proposed by it.
“Imran Khan is not becoming part of electoral reforms process and at the same time he demands for reforms,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2014.
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