CEC, two ECP members: Opposition, government inching towards evolving consensus

The government and opposition parties in the Parliament are said to have evolved consensus on names of chief election commissioner and two members of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in an informal meeting of Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Members of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

In a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs on Friday, Dr Sikandar Mandhro informed the committee that Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of CEC met on Friday and agreed on three names informally. "We have reached consensus on the name of CEC and other two Members of ECP but could not formally finalize the names as Prime Minister House did not send names in writing," he said.

Dr Mandhro, who is also a member of Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of CEC, disclosed that the Supreme Court of Pakistan had granted time for selection of CEC and other members of ECP till January 27. He expressed hope that the meeting of the parliamentary committee convened on Monday would finalize the appointment of CEC and two members of ECP.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has been ineffective since the retirement of then Chief Election Commissioner former Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza on December 6. During his tenure, former CEC also refused to take oath from the Sindh and Balochistan members of the ECP appointed by the government. Giving the reason for his refusal to take the oath, the CEC said that the appointments of Khalid Mahmood Siddiqui (Sindh) and Munir Ahmed Khan Kakar (Balochistan) were not made under the Articles 213 and 214.

The Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs recommended the government to remove lacunas in the election law. The members of the committee in majority declined the suggestion of Secretary ECP Zafar Iqbal Hussain, who said the ECP should be empowered to select CEC and members ECP in future in case of any deadlock between the government and opposition parties.

Special Invitee Farhatullah Babar opposing the suggestions of ECP said that transfer of power for selection of CEC and members ECP to ECP would further undermine the executive powers of the Parliament. He said the executive power of parliament was already compromised by giving power to court of law to select the members ECP in case of deadlock between the parliamentary parties.

Senator Walid Iqbal of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) criticizing the Charter of Democracy signed between Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) said both parties failed to foresee the possibility of deadlock on the appointment of CEC and ECP members that allowed the third party intervention.

He endorsed the point of view of former Senator Farhatullah Babar and said the right to selection of ECP members should be held by the parliamentarians.

Farhatullah Babar also hinted at lack of coordination between ECP and NADRA in registering the non-registered 13 million female voters in current electoral list. However, the secretary ECP said that in general practice, NADAR is transferring online data of new CNIC holders to ECP for registration as voters after promulgation of Election Act 2017.

He confirmed that 13 million female voters did not get CNICs from NADRA; therefore, they have not been registered so far and there was not discrepancy between NADRA and ECP voters' data base.

The secretary ECP also briefed the committee on present display of voters list and procedure for correction in it. He said that 112,104,518 voters were registered in preliminary electoral rolls 2019-20. He said male voters were 62,396,149 (56 percent) and female voters were 49,708,369 (44 percent) in the preliminary electoral rolls 2019-20.

The government and opposition on Friday failed to reach consensus on a final nomination for the vacant slot of chief election commissioner (CEC) and put off the matter till Monday for a possible end to the current constitutional crisis.

The 11th meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was held with Dr Shireen Mazari in the chair to discuss the proposed names for slot of CEC. However, the meeting ended with no consensus and decided to meet again on Monday.

From the government side, the Prime Minister has proposed three names - Sikandar Sultan Raja, a former federal secretary who is also backed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and two former federal secretaries Jameel Ahmad and Fazal Abbas Maken for the coveted slot of the CEC.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has nominated Nisar Durrani for the vacant slot of the ECP member from Sindh while Shah Mohammad Jatoi has been proposed by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and is also backed by PML-N against the vacant seat of the ECP member from Balochistan.

"If the opposition parties agree on evolving a consensus on the government's nominee for the office of the CEC, the opposition's proposed candidates for the ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan would also be appointed with consensus," said a government representative in the 12-member parliamentary committee while talking to Business Recorder on condition of anonymity.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Swati said that efforts are being made to evolve consensus on appointment on the CEC and two members of the CEC against the vacant positions from Sindh and Balochistan.

"We are hopeful and both the sides are determined to evolve consensus on Monday and if it does not then another meeting will be called on Tuesday. We have offered them to appoint their [opposition] nominees from Sindh and Balochistan and the government in return wants that the CEC is appointed with consensus - a government nominee," he said.

Swati said that the names forwarded from the Prime Minister to leader of the opposition in National Assembly through a letter were in a sealed envelope that will be opened on Monday at 4:00 pm during the next meeting.

"This is collective and primary responsibility of both the government and the opposition to pull the country out of this constitutional crisis by settling the matter of appointment of CEC and the two ECP members," he added.

Talking to reporters, PML-N representative in the committee Senator Mushahidullah Khan said that the government was supposed to share the new proposed names with the opposition in the Friday's meeting. "The government did not share the names, as it was agreed that first the government should circulate the names in the committee followed by the opposition," he said.

He also claimed that both the government and the opposition are 'quite close' to evolving consensus. "We are hopeful that there is consensus on the appointments in the committee's next meeting on Monday," he expressed the hope.

The Islamabad High Court has given the Parliament four extensions to decide who will become the CEC and to also appoint two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The ECP has been incomplete for almost one year after its members from Sindh and Balochistan retired on January 26, 2019, whereas, the CEC office has been lying vacant since the retirement of Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza (retd) last month.

The Article 213 of the Constitution 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."

As per the 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.