Federal govt demands CEC, ECP members step down

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has demanded of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja and the members of the electoral body to stepdown, ARY News reported on Monday.

“Being the largest party of the country, we do not have trust in the ECP,” said Federal Minister for Education, Shafqat Mahmood while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

The minister said that the ECP despite the clear directions of the Supreme Court failed to devise a mechanism to eliminate corrupt practices during the Senate elections.

Yousuf Raza Gilani’s win shows that corrupt practices were done during the election of the Senate seat from Islamabad.

This was the failure of the ECP and now no one has trust in the body, Shafqat Mahmood was quoted as saying.

The minister said in the present situation, the ECP cannot discharge its responsibilities to ensure fair and free elections. “We want such an ECP that no one can raise questions on the transparency of the elections.”

Earlier in the month, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had expressed its disappointment over the allegations raised by PM Imran Khan during his address to the Nation.