Islamabad:
In a significant development, a great reorganization has been carried out in the country’s survey supervision authority, the Pakistan Electoral Commission (ECP), with three of its provincial members exchanging places.
According to a notification issued on Thursday, Sharifullah, the provincial electoral commissioner of Sindh, has been appointed provincial electoral commissioner of Punjab.
Muhammad Farid Aphridi, the provincial electoral commissioner of Baluchistan, has been appointed electoral commissioner of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Aijaz Anwar Chohan, the provincial electoral commissioner of Punjab, has been re -elected as the provincial electoral commissioner of Sindh.
Ali Asghar Sial has been appointed as the Provincial Electoral Commissioner of Baluchistan, while Aleem Shahab has been appointed Additional Director (headquarters).
The electoral chief commissioner (CEC), Sikander Sultan Raja, has completed his mandate. However, the government and the opposition have not yet been able to begin negotiations to find their successor.
On January 27, a day after the end of the term of the head of the CEC, the PTI, the largest opposition party, demanded that the government immediately and transparently design an honest, impartial and neutral CEC “in consultation with the PTI.
“The dark era of the outgoing CEC left an indelible brand in the electoral landscape of the country,” said PTI Secretary of Central Information, Sheikh Waqas Akram.
He said that it was up to the Government to guarantee appropriate appointments and based on CEC and two other provincial chiefs of the electoral body “to protect the institution from greater destruction.”
PTI’s secretary of information said that the mandate of the outgoing CEC had severely damaged the reputation of the ECP, which allowed him to continue in position would be a serious injustice, not only for the institution but also for the nation.
The PTI has had a difficult relationship with the ECP under the leadership of Raja, marked by legal challenges and public disputes. The tensions reached their maximum point during the general elections of 2024, where PTI alleged generalized rigs and manipulation vote after the litigation led by the ECP stripped the party of its iconic electoral symbol of a Crickt bat.
The Party has repeatedly accused of delaying the results of the elections and manipulating votes of votes, accusations that the ECP has constantly denied. The PTI has also requested Raja’s resignation, claiming that its actions have eroded the confidence in the capacity of the ECP to make fair choices.
