PTI govt appoints two ECP members

Both names were recommended by govt

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday notified the appointed of two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) -- Khalid Mehmood Siddiqui from Sindh and Munir Ahmed Kakar from Balochistan.

The parliamentary affairs ministry issued the notification after President Arif Alvi’s approval. The names of both the members were recommended by the government.

The appointment came after seven months after Abdul Ghaffar Soomro and Justice (retd) Shakeel Baloch — the ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan — retired in January this year. Under the law, their successors should have been appointed within 45 days of their retirement.

However, the matter was hit by delay as the prime minister and opposition leader in the National Assembly did not consult each other for reaching a consensus on the new members.

The parliamentary committee formed to appoint the members also failed to reach an agreement.

The last meeting of the bipartisan 12-member parliamentary committee on the appointment of ECP members held over a month ago had ended in a stalemate.

Members from the government and opposition insisted on having ECP member of their choice from Sindh and offered to support the other side’s nominee as member from Balochistan. Finally, voting took place, which too ended in a tie.

Since the Constitution is silent in case of a deadlock in the parliamentary committee, the meeting discussed the option of inviting fresh names from the prime minister and the leader of opposition in the National Assembly, and referring the matter to the Supreme Court, but nothing could be done.

The chief election commissioner is set to retire in less than four month.

The process for appointment of the chief election commissioner and members should start three months before their retirement.

When contacted, a senior ECP official said the next general elections in 2023 are to be conducted by an entirely new team. He said Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan would retire in the first week of December, while the term of two sitting ECP members would expire in June 2021.

He pointed out that had the appointment of members from Sindh and Balochistan been made in a timely manner, they would have gained a lot of experience from the by-polls held across the country and the provincial assembly elections held in the erstwhile Fata.

Under Articles 213 and 218 of the constitution, the prime minister in consultation with the opposition leader forwards three names for the appointment of the chief election commissioner or a commission member to the parliamentary committee for confirmation of one name.