The Human Rights of Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Tuesday welcomed the selection of Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) following parliamentary consensus.
Office-bearers of the commission expressed the hope that under his leadership, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would work independently for holding free, fair, democratic elections, besides resolving all election-related issues.
An HRCP handout welcomed the parliamentary accord and said that it was indeed a positive thing that all political parties had found a way out of the deadlock. "It is hoped that the spirit of meaningful consultation and co-operation will endure and expand."
The appointment to the office of the CEC is also significant because such an important post "cannot and must not vacant for long". "HRCP notes that under the new scheme of things the CEC's role has shrunk some what and the bulk of the electoral process is to be carried out by the Election Commission of Pakistan as a whole. "Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that Justice Ebrahim should be given a good team to work with and receives complete support from each member of election commission . It is hoped that CEC's appointment would be followed by other positive steps required to promote confidence in the Election Commissions ability to ensure free, fair and transparent elections."