ECP 'ready for fresh elections' as two new members take oath

ISLAMABAD: Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Wednesday administered the oath to two newly appointed members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and announced that the commission was ready to hold elections, ARY NEWS reported.

ECP member from Punjab Babar Hassan Bharwana and a member from KP Justice (retd) Ikramullah Khan took the oath of their new responsibilities.

Speaking to the media later, CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja said that the ECP had taken decisions fearlessly and will continue to do so. “If anyone gets annoyed with our decision, it is their issue but we will continue to take our decisions in line with the Constitution and the given laws,” he said.

Speaking over fresh elections in the country, the CEC said that the commission was ready for the elections and it is now the responsibility of the government to decide on it.

“The Election Commission only has the mandate to hold free and fair elections,” he said and added that progress on delimitation process is being expedited.

He went on to say that the ECP has a clear stance on the census that they could not carry out delimitations without the official publication of fresh census results. “The results of 2017 census were published in 2021,” he added.

He further shared that the government wanted to hold fresh census and if they receive its results by December 2022, then fresh delimitations for the elections in 2023 could be carried out timely.

Speaking on enmasse resignations of PTI MNAs, Sikandar Sultan Raja said that the deputy speaker did not forward the resignations to the ECP.