The matter has now been referred to a 12-member parliamentary committee on appointing ECP members to decide who will be appointed to top poll body.
The Four members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had retired on June 12 and the top poll body has been virtually non-functional since.
Following their fourth consultative meeting on this issue between Leader of the Opposition Khursheed Shah and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday, they conceded that a deadlock on names for three member posts persists.
However, they assured that the names will be finalised within the stipulated constitutional deadline of 45 days which is due to expire on July 25.
Talking to journalists outside the Parliament House, Dar said that the opposition and the government will now send their respective list of 12 names to the equally represented parliamentary committee which is expected to deliberate on them and give a final decision on Monday, July 25.
“It will be our utmost effort to not only finalise the names on Monday but also to issue notifications of the elected members on the same day,” he said.
Shah said the names suggested by the government and opposition include names of retired judges, bureaucrats, and technocrats.
There is a lesson in the failed coup in Turkey for other democratic states across the globe.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2016.
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