Court sets deadline for election panel

Chief justice says appointments should have been decided beforehand

Pakistan’s Supreme Court yesterday set July 27 as the deadline for the government to appoint members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), after the terms of the incumbent commissioners expired last month.

During the hearing in the case, government counsel Waqar Rana informed the court that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s stay in London for treatment had caused delay in appointments. He said the constitutionally required consultations with the opposition regarding appointment of ECP members, one each from the four provinces, were underway.

Functioning affected

The functioning of the ECP has been affected by non-appointment of new members.

Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali had taken notice of the situation on his own and held a hearing on the issue.

The chief justice said the appointments should have been decided beforehand and the seats should not have been left vacant.

“Our concern is that the constitutional mandate should be fulfilled within time. The institution has become non-functional,” the chief justice observed.

“[The] court wants appointments of new members in Election Commission so that the institution can work properly.”

Justice Jamali said the expiry of ECP members’ terms resulted in the delay of elections for vacant seats in the national and provincial assemblies, local government elections and the issuance of notifications of returned candidates and various other processes.

Several meetings held by the government with the opposition have reportedly produced no result because of differences over nominees.

Leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khurshid Shah, said he would present names for the new ECP members after consulting all the opposition parties.