Govt, opposition indecisive on appointment of two ECP members

ISLAMABAD: A standoff between the government and the opposition over appointment of two remaining members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) isn’t yet settled as office of the opposition leader wrote a letter to the prime minister’s secretary for hashing out the matter, ARY News reported Thursday.

The issue of the nomination of the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was dragged due to indecisiveness of the government and opposition over the matter.

According to the letter addressed to PM’s secretary Azam Khan, it said the delay in appointment of the ECP members was violation of the Constitution.

Read: Govt sends its names to Opposition for Sindh, Balochistan members of ECP

The letter said consultation on the process couldn’t be done through a person nominated by either of the sides. “The names sent by the PM Office were different from those forwarded by Shah Mehmood Qureshi,” the letter reads.

It said the consultation on the matter should be held in light of the Supreme Court orders of 2011 regarding the ECP members’ appointment. “We can get assistance from the apex court orders,” the letter said.

The letter from the opposition leader’s office was sent by Mehboob Phulpoto.

The government on March 25 had finalized its names for the election commission’s members from Sindh and Balochistan.

The election body has been incomplete since retirement of its two members on January 26.