Long overdue

It is important that parties apart from PML-N and PPP be taken into confidence and consulted on the matter

Despite the orders issued by the Supreme Court on October 14 that the long vacant post of chief election commissioner be filled within two weeks, it seems unlikely that this will happen any time soon. The post has not been filled since the last chief election commissioner, Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ibrahim, resigned from the slot in July last year after criticism from the opposition about an unfair electoral process. Since then, a judge appointed by the Supreme Court has been acting in that capacity. The Court now says it will remove the judge unless a permanent appointment is made. However, there are complications. The leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khurshid Shah, has said that no decision on this issue can be made until the parliamentary committee on electoral reforms comes to a decision on the matter and other issues surrounding it. Following the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment, the leader of the opposition and the ruling party must reach a consensus on who to appoint to the post of chief election commissioner.



Despite several meetings, this process has not met with success. The PPP, as the main opposition party in the National Assembly, naturally has a right to make its voice heard in what is a crucial matter. But it is also important that other views be heard. The PTI, for instance, has been the most vocal party on the matter of electoral rigging and all that it involves. Since the role of the chief election commissioner and the Election Commission of Pakistan that he heads is vital in ensuring a transparent election, it is important that parties apart from the PML-N and the PPP, too, be taken into confidence and consulted on the matter.

The elections are too important to be neglected in any way. They stand at the centre of our democracy and it is crucial that we are able to conduct them as fairly and freely as possible. This can happen only if all parties reach an agreement, while it is also vital that the post be filled without much further delay so that the process of addressing the many issues that remain pending as far as elections go can be handled swiftly and efficiently.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2014.

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