A CEC at last

Pakistan finally has a chief election commissioner (CEC). The parliamentary panel assigned the task to appoint a person to this position has chosen Justice (retd) Sardar Muhammad Raza for the post, just a few days before the Supreme Court of Pakistan withdrew the judge it had appointed in an acting capacity to fill the position. The role of the CEC is, of course, crucial to the country, notably at this juncture. There are many matters to sort out, especially with allegations of electoral rigging determining much of what is happening in the political sphere. Justice (retd) Raza, from his track record, would appear to have the ability to help sort out these matters. He enjoys an impeccable judicial reputation, was among the judges who refused to take oath under General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s PCO of November 2007 and has in the past acted as acting CEC, filling the role when this was required. He thus has the experience to do what is needed.



We hope he will then come up to expectations. The parliamentary panel has expressed full confidence that he will. The unanimous decision reached after months of debate is welcome.

It is unfortunate, however, that the PTI member of the panel was absent as the final verdict was reached. Regardless of this, for the sake of the country, we must have all parties cooperating with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to improve its conduct and make the election process a smoother one. This would be Justice (retd) Raza’s first challenge. How successfully he is able to live up to expectations will be significant. As he takes over his new duties, he must get to work instantly to try and level the bumps that have cropped up along the road and thrown the role of the ECP into controversy. We need a body to oversee elections which is fully autonomous and clearly impartial. Justice (retd) Raza will need to help it move towards this position, and do so in a manner that falls in line with constitutional requirements so that we can for any future poll avoid the difficulties that marred and continue to mar those conducted in May 2013.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th,  2014.

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