Friday, March 29, 2024

Govt decides to approach SC over appointment of ECP members

Govt decides to approach SC over appointment of ECP members
June 25, 2019
ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday have decided to approach the Supreme Court of Pakistan over appointment of two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from Sindh and Balochistan. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Naeemul Haque informed that deadlock regarding appointment of the ECP members continued between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif. He said that the government decided to approach the SC to resolve the pending issue of appointment of the ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan. The special assistant said that both the sides have not agreed on the appointment and deadlock persisted in the parliamentary committee, formed related to appoint the ECP members. It is worth mentioning here that the recent political strife between the government and the opposition had resulted in missing the constitutional deadline of 45 days for the appointment of two members of the ECP as both parties have rejected each other’s proposed nominees for the vacant seats. According to the constitution, the premier and the opposition leader forward three names to the parliamentary committee after having consensus over the matter. Meanwhile, if no agreement is reached between them, they can propose three names separately for the designation(s). Then, the parliamentary committee with a two-third majority can choose one name from the total six. But, if any deadlock arises between members of the parliamentary committee over the matter, then the Constitution does not guide further. About six months have passed since the retirement of members of the ECP from Sindh and Balochistan, and yesterday the parliamentary committee – that has equal representatives from the government and the opposition – rejected names forwarded by both the prime minister and the opposition.   Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan himself wrote a letter to Shehbaz Sharif for appointment of the ECP members. In a four-page letter, the prime minister invited the opposition leader to participate in consultations process for the appointment the ECP members. He also sought suggestions in writing. In the letter, the premier rejected all objections and allegations hurled by Shehbaz Sharif that the federal government was violating the constitution by delaying the appointment of the ECP members from Balochistan and Sindh provinces.
Shehbaz rejects PM Imran Khan ECP nominations
Shehbaz Sharif rejected Prime Minister Imran Khan’s nominations of two people each for the two vacant seats of the ECP. According to the details, Shehbaz’s Thursday response stated that the candidates nominated by the PM Office were different from those who had been nominated in a letter sent to him by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi who had been nominated by the premier for the consultation process.