SC bins plea challenging CEC's appointment

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has turned down a petition challenging the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja on Wednesday, ARY News reported. 

A two-member bench headed by Justice Umar Atta Bandial heard the petition moved by advocate Ali Azeem Afridi.

The plea was declared inaudible as the objections raised by the Registrar Office of the Supreme Court could not be removed by the applicant.

Justice Bandial in his remarks said that a constitutional amendment cannot be challenged and asked the applicant to prove which serving judges are working in the ECP.

Last week, Advocate Ali Azeem Afridi moved the petition against the appointment of the current CEC, Sikander Sultan Raja. He had approached the Supreme Court (SC) after the Peshawar High Court (PHC) dismissed his similar petition last year in September.

Read more: SIKANDAR SULTAN RAJA APPOINTED AS CEC, NOTIFICATION ISSUED

He assailed a constitutional amendment that allowed the appointment of a retired senior civil servant or a technocrat as the chief election commissioner (CEC) of Pakistan. He requested the court to declare the incumbent CEC’s appointment unconstitutional.

On January 27, 2020, Sikandar Sultan Raja was sworn in as the chief election commissioner (CEC).