The political deadlock on the appointment of two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) continues with the election body incomplete for more than two months due to no 'meaningful' consultation between Prime Minister and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly as required under the constitution.
Initiating the process, Prime Minister Imran Khan on March 28 wrote a letter to opposition leader in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif through his principal secretary Azam Khan, proposing three names from Sindh and Balochistan each for the two vacant positions of ECP.
The opposition leader's Director Muhib Ali Phulpoto wrote to the Prime Minister's Secretary Muhammad Azam Khan calling for a 'meaningful' consultation process as per the Constitution.
PML-N spokesperson Marriyam Aurangzeb confirmed to Business Recorder that the opposition leader raised objections on the delay in the process which she termed violative of the constitution.
She said that as per the Constitution, the Prime Minister has to directly engage with the leader of opposition, adding that Shahbaz Sharif will only nominate three names after the process is initiated as per the Constitution.
The Prime Minister had proposed the names of Khalid Mehmood Siddiqui, a lawyer, Justice (retd) Farrukh Zia Sheikh, a former judge of Sindh High Court, and Iqbal Mehmood, retired inspector general of Sindh, for nomination as a member of the ECP from Sindh.
From Balochistan, the names of Amanullah Baloch, former district and sessions judge, Quetta; Munir Kakar, a lawyer; and Mir Naveed Jan Baloch, a businessman and former caretaker minister in the provincial government, were nominated.
Talking to Business Recorder former secretary ECP Kanwar Dilshad Mohammad said that under Articles 213 and 218, it is mandatory that the Prime Minister as the leader of the house in the National Assembly initiates the constitutional process with the leader of the opposition.
He said the process could also be done through a letter, but that should be between the Prime Minister and the opposition leader. "This deadlock needs to be over now as more than two months have already been passed and the ECP is incomplete," he insisted.
A senior official of the ECP told Business Recorder that two ECP members - Abdul Ghaffar Soomro from Sindh and former Justice Shakeel Baloch from Balochistan - retired on January 26, 2019 and their replacements under the Constitution should have been appointed by March 12, the constitutional deadline of 45 days has already been missed. "This is a clear cut violation of the Constitution," he insisted.
About the process, he said the Prime Minister and the opposition leader were required to evolve a consensus on three names through direct consultation to be forwarded to the 12-member parliamentary committee to reach an agreement on one name.
In case of no agreement, the official said that both the Prime Minister and leader of the opposition would separately forward three nominees each to the parliamentary committee for a final decision.
Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser, on January 12, 2019, constituted the parliamentary committee comprising 12 members that included eight members of the National Assembly and four from the Senate and the government and opposition have equal representation in the 12-member committee.
The committee comprises Minister for Aviation Division Muhammad Mian Soomro, Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan, Syed Fakhar Imam MNA, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani from government while from Opposition Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Rana Sanaullah Khan, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Shahida Akhtar Ali, while four members from Senate include Senators Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Naseebullah Bazai from government and Mushahidullah Khan and Dr Sikandar Mandhro from the opposition.
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