ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has given the federal government two weeks to appoint a permanent Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) – a post which cannot be left vacant in the absence of a permanent head of commission.
The three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, has threatened to withdraw the nomination of its judge, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, who is presently acting as CEC if the federal government fails to appoint a permanent CEC.
Justice (Retd) Fakharuddin G Ebrahim, who was appointed as the 13th CEC, had resigned on July 30, 2013 -- a day after the presidential polls for which opposition parties accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of failing to conduct impartial polls.
Justice Jamali is the third consecutive interim chief of the ECP in less than one year. Earlier, the incumbent chief justice and the outgoing chief justice, Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, had performed as acting CEC.
Under Article 217 of the Constitution, the chief justice can appoint any judge of the SC as acting CEC.
During the hearing on Tuesday, Attorney General for Pakistan Salman Aslam Butt ensured the bench that the appointment of a permanent CEC will be made in 30 to 35 days.
The bench, however, rejected his stance and gave the federal government two weeks to fill the constitutional post.
LG polls
The same bench has sought the schedule of Local Government (LG) elections from the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) till next Monday, and also made it clear that the court’s judgment on delimitation does not apply in K-P.
The bench also hinted it may summon the chief ministers of Punjab and Sindh if both provincial governments do not complete the legislation to authorise the ECP to carry out the delimitation process for LG polls within two days.
The court expressed annoyance over both provincial governments regarding their failure for not completing the legislation process for LG polls for five months.
“You have done nothing since February,” the chief justice said to law officers of both provinces.
Advocate General Sindh Fateh Malik told the bench that the governor has shown reservations over the ordinance and had returned it without signing it.
“Why did you not present the bill in the assembly, and opt for ordinance instead,” the chief justice asked him.
“It was clearly mentioned in the court’s judgment that the process of legislation should be completed within five months. You would have still been inactive if the SC had not issued a notice,” the CJ observed. He further said that provincial governments successfully delayed the process for several months.
Meanwhile, Additional Advocate General Razaq A Mirza filed a reply in this matter, saying that the provincial government cannot legislate until the federation legislate this matter.
The bench, however, rejected this stance and directed the Punjab government to complete the legislation process within two days. It also directed the federal government to complete the legislation by the end of this week as well. Further the hearing was adjourned until Monday.
COMMENTS (7)
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It's good hear SC took some notice otherwise NS et company is not worried about local body elections. Also tribute to KPK govt for their sincere efforts regarding LB elections.
Election commission will pretend one way or the other to keep their bosses happy, but we count on SC to push them.
Thank you Supreme Court for taking this initiative. Local government elections and appointment of permanent CEC are the biggest issues threatening democracy. Thumbs up for your initiative. You are our only hope now.
It is about time these politicians learn to walk the talk. . SC should have given a 30-days notice to government to fill all top posts lying vacant now. And if government doesn't comply then it should hold PM in contempt of court. If this goofball PM can't deliver then he better hit the road.
The Supreme Court has given the federal government two weeks to appoint a permanent Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ....really unbelievable....like L.B. election date will be extended till next election
Our governments have often accused superior judiciary of over-activism and of interference in administrative matters but all considered, I think in our case, a pro-active judiciary is a blessing for the country. In an atmosphere where our elected representatives from whose ranks our state officials are selected seem to be of the firm opinion that the people have given them a mandate for five years during which no body has any right to question them and must leave them to run the country as they wished, which wish is translated into different means to loot the country left, right and centre for their personal benefit and that of their relatives and friends.
As for public, they think having cast its vote, it has no further role to play until after five years when it will again be given an option to exercise its only right of casting votes which will be manipulated by them to achieve desired results.
And while claiming their democratic credentials, they do not feel any need to perform the basic responsibilities that democracy places on them one of which is the devolution of power. And going beyond the dereliction of duty, they don't mind even contravening the Constitution of the country clause 140-A of which says "Each province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local governments. Elections to the local governments shall be held by the ECP." Obviously, the provincial governments could not be too keen on measures which will have the effect of diluting their powers and reducing the funds over which they presently have absolute control to fiddle around with.
And while not too keen on discharging their constitutional duties, our power-hungry leaders seem too keen on taking over more powers which they could misuse. According to press reports, there is a move to establish a college of physicians and surgeons in Sindh. After hacking down Higher Education Commission, this would be an attempt to destroy another prestigious national institution which over the years has gained worldwide recognition through painstaking work. The greed of our leaders is simply astounding and is matched only by their total disregard for the interest of the people and the country.
It is good Dr. Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan are trying to sort things out.
Karachi
In a kingdom of NS there is no need of any CEC.
Then these so-called democratic politicians, parliamentarians claim to be the saviors of " democracy, constitution & Parliament " when they themselves do not follow 40 articles of the constitution including article 140 A with regard to local govt election....what democracy are they & their supporters talking about ?