Opposition gets equal share in body for ECP posts

ISLAMABAD:

A parliamentary committee’s in-camera meeting for the appointment of two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would now be held next week on November 15 now that the opposition has been given equal representation in the body.

The meeting of the committee -- formed for the appointment of ECP members from Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa -- could not be held on Friday despite being called three times as earlier it comprised of seven government members and five of the opposition.

Now it has six equal members from the government and the opposition after its reconstitution.

Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood has been replaced by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

The meeting, chaired by Human Rights Minister Dr Sheerin Mazari at the Parliament House on Monday, will be attended by federal ministers Pervez Khattak, Fawad Chaudhry and Asad Umar as well as Senators Azam Swati and Manzoor Kakar.

Rana Sanaullah, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Shahida Akhtar Ali, Senator Taj Haider and Senator Azam Nazir Tarar will be representing the opposition.

The ECP members from Punjab and K-P had retired on July 25 after completing their terms.

The prime minister had sent a letter to the opposition leader on August 26, proposing three names each for the ECP members from Punjab and K-P.

For the vacant seat of ECP member from Punjab, PM Imran had proposed the names of Ahsan Mahboob, Raja Amer Khan and Dr Syed Pervaiz Abbas. For the post of the member from K-P, he had suggested the names of Justice (retd) Ikramullah Khan, Faridullah Khan and Muzammil Khan.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, who is also the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, in response had suggested the names of Justice (retd) Tariq Iftikhar Ahmed, Justice (retd) Mushtaq Ahmed., Muhammad Javed Anwar, Khalid Masood Chaudhry, Irfan Qadir and Irfan Ali for the ECP slot from Punjab.

For the K-P seat, he had proposed the names of Syed Afsar Shah, Sardar Hussain Shah and Sohail Altaf.

Article 213 (2A) states “The Prime Minister shall in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, forward three names for appointment of the Commissioner to a Parliamentary Committee for hearing and confirmation of any one person. Provided that in case there is no consensus between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, each shall forward separate lists to the Parliamentary Committee for consideration which may confirm any one name”.

Article 218 reads: “Four members, one from each Province, each of whom shall be a person who has been a judge of a High Court or has been a senior civil servant or is a technocrat and is not more than sixty-five years of age, to be appointed by the President in the manner provided for appointment of the Commissioner in clauses (2A) and (2B) or Article 213.”