ECP members: Imran, Shahbaz recommend names

Prime Minister Imran Khan and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif have recommended separate names for the appointment of two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from Sindh and Balochistan.

In reply to a joint letter from Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and Speaker NA Asad Qaiser asking both the PM and opposition leader in NA to send their respective nominations for the appointment of two ECP members, the PM has recommended Justice Sadiq Bhatti (retd), Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi (retd) and Abdul Jabbar Qureshi for the position of member ECP from Sindh and Dr Faiz Kakar, Naveed Jan Baloch and Amanullah Baloch for member ECP position from Balochistan, Business Recorder has learnt.

The NA opposition leader has suggested the names of Nisar Durrani, Justice Abdur Rasool Memon (retd) and Aurangzeb Haq for the position of member ECP from Sindh, and Shah Mehmood Jatoi, Rauf Atta and Raheel Durrani for the same position from Balochistan, it is further learnt.

Separately, the NA opposition leader has recommended the names of Nasir Mehmood Khosa, Jalil Abbas Jillani and Akhlaq Ahmad Tarar for the position of Chief Election Commissioner while the PM's recommendations for the position of CEC are still awaited. The outgoing CEC Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza (retd) is retiring on December 6.

In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, the CEC has asked the government to take steps for the appointment of new CEC keeping in view that the Commission would constitutionally cease to function beyond December 6.

The ECP, it is learnt, can remain functional if the PM and NA opposition leader come together to get the two ECP members appointed by December 6, which means that the ECP will have four members and would be in position to take decisions even if the CEC retires.

In case the deadlock between the government and opposition over the appointment of the CEC persists, the Supreme Court of Pakistan is constitutionally empowered to appoint an acting CEC after the incumbent CEC retires on December 6.

The Article 217 of the Constitution of Pakistan reads, "At any time when, a. the office of Commissioner is vacant, or b. the Commissioner is absent or unable to perform the functions of his office due to any other cause, a Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice of Pakistan shall Act as Commissioner."

The CEC and ECP members are appointed with consensus between the leader of the house and leader of the opposition in National Assembly.

The Article 213 reads, "(2 A) The Prime Minister shall in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, forward three names for appointment of the Commissioner to a Parliamentary Committee for hearing and confirmation of any one person.

"Article (2B) The Parliamentary Committee to be constituted by the Speaker shall comprise fifty percent members from the Treasury Benches and fifty percent from the Opposition Parties, based on their strength in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), to be nominated by the respective Parliamentary Leaders:

"Provided that in case there is no consensus between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, each shall forward separate lists to the Parliamentary Committee for consideration which may confirm any one name."

In the light of relevant constitutional provisions, the criteria for the appointment of the CEC and the four ECP members (one member is appointed from each province) is the same and the CEC and ECP members are appointed for five years with half of the members (two out of four) retiring after 2.5 years.

In January this year, two ECP members Abdul Ghaffar Soomro from Sindh and Shakeel Baloch from Balochistan had retired following the completion of their five-year respective terms.

On August 22 this year, President Arif Alvi appointed Khalid Mahmood Siddiqui from Sindh and Munir Ahmad Kakar from Balochistan as ECP members but CEC Raza refused to administer oath to them citing violation of the Constitution in the appointment of these two members.

On October 14, 2019, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had directed that the issue of the two ECP members' appointment be sent to the parliament. During the proceedings of a related case, the court had observed the chairman Senate and speaker NA should play their role in resolving the deadlock between the government and the ECP over the two members' appointment. Barrister Jahangir Khan Jadoon moved IHC against the appointment of the two ECP members. The CEC in his written reply to IHC stated that they had been appointed by the President without following the procedure laid down in clauses 2A and 2B of Article 213 of the Constitution.

Following the IHC's observations regarding the appointment of the two ECP members, the chairman Senate and speaker NA wrote letters to the PM and leader of the opposition in NA seeking three names each for the appointment of two ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan.