The matter of ECP appointments

Delaying important decisions and making them difficult, hence controversial, is becoming the hallmark of the incumbent government. A case in point is appointments to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The scheduled meeting of the parliamentary body that was to take place on Monday 30th December was put off once again. The 12-member parliamentary committee that comprises 6 members each from the treasury and the opposition is led by the minister for human rights, Dr Shirin Mazari. Chief Election Commissioner, former Justice Mohammad Raza Khan retired on December 6, and yet his replacement has not been named. As per constitutionally laid down procedure, the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly are to recommend three names each, and after consultations forward three nominees to a parliamentary committee for hearing and confirmation of an appointment to the post. Though they have finally proposed their respective nominations, going by a related example, this case may spark another protracted row between the two sides.

It's been more than three months since the President notified the appointment of two members of ECP, one each from Sindh and Baluchistan, to fill the positions that held fallen vacant upon the end of previous members' term. This was done despite objections raised by the Opposition. The CEC, however, refused to administer them the oath on the ground that the appointments were made without meeting the constitutional requirements. On principle, the issue should have been resolved within Parliament. But it ended up in the Islamabad High Court, where while suspending the notification, Chief Justice Athar Minallah directed the custodians of the two houses of Parliament, National Assembly Speaker and Chairman Senate, to resolve the issue amicably. But their three-week long efforts came to naught, leading to suspension by the court of the presidential order regarding the two members' controversial appointments. The matter continues to hang fire.

The problem is that Prime Minister Imran Khan is unwilling to talk with the opposition. Instead, he has been treating requisite consultations as a mere formality, communicating with the Leader of the Opposition, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, through letters sent by his secretary and a foreign affairs ministry official, or senior ministers. Finally, Sharif responded to a direct letter from him, proposing three names for the CEC's position as well as two persons for the appointment of ECP members from Sindh and Baluchistan. An ordinate delay in these appointments has already rendered such an important constitutional body as the ECP, which is responsible for conducting fair and free elections to the national and provincial assemblies as well as local government dysfunctional. It can only he hoped the Prime Minister will realise the urgency of the matter and reach out to the opposition and the opposition too would rise to the occasion and reciprocate in the same spirit to fulfill their constitutional obligation to make the ECP fully functional again.