Opposition rejects latest appointments of ECP members

ISLAMABAD: 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.

He was of the view that the decision has raised questions over the commission as well and opposition parties will take legal action. He added that the decision for taking this matter into court or parliament will be taken soon by the opposition leadership.

Earlier in the day, President Dr. Arif Alvi appointed two new members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

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.