SC to take up petition challenging CEC's appointment Monday

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has fixed a petition challenging the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja for hearing.

Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed constituted a three-member bench comprising Justice Umar Atta Bandial, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar to hear the case on Monday (Sept 13).

The bench will hear an appeal against objections raised by the apex court’s registrar to the petition.

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

READ: 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).