Chief Election Commissioner refuses oath-taking of two new ECP members

ISLAMABAD: Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan has refused the oath-taking of the two Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members recently appointed by President Alvi, ARY News reported on Wednesday citing sources.

The CEC in a statement said that the appointment of newly ECP members was not in accordance with Articles 213 and 218 of Constitution.

“The appointment of two ECP members is a clear violation of the constitution of Pakistan,” reads a statement.

President Dr. Arif Alvi appointed on Thursday two new members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), ARY News reported.

Khalid Mahmood Siddiqui and Munir Kakar have been appointed as ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan respectively, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

The two seats of ECP members fell vacant after Abdul Ghaffar Soomro and retired Justice Shakeel Baloch — the commission’s members from Sindh and Balochistan — retired in January this year.

The government is required to appoint their successors within 45 days of their retirement.

The delay was apparently caused by a lack of consensus between the government and opposition on the appointment of ECP members as meetings of a parliamentary committee comprising members from both the sides ended in a stalemate.

Opposition parties have rejected the latest appointments on the two vacant seats of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), ARY News reported on Thursday.

The opposition parties have decided to take legal action against the appointment of Khalid Mahmood Siddiqui and Munir Kakar on the vacant seats of ECP.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader, Khursheed Shah, alleged that the appointments were completely illegal as the constitutional requirements were neglected in the decision.