- The Na speaker writes a letter to the opposition leader.
- Describe the constitutional process for the formation of the committee.
- He says consultations among the leader of the ongoing PM opposition.
Islamabad: The president of the National Assembly, Ayaz Sadiq, has rejected the demand of the opposition leader Omar Ayub to form a parliamentary committee to appoint a new electoral commissioner (CEC) and two members of the Pakistan Electoral Commission (ECP), saying that the process cannot proceed without consulting between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.
“The formation of the parliamentary committee cannot take place before the consultation process between the prime minister and the opposition leader is complete,” said President Ayaz Sadiq in a letter while responding to the Ayub’s request.
Earlier on Thursday, Omar Ayub formally requested the president of the House of Representatives to constitute the Committee to initiate the appointment process.
He nominated six opposition members, four of the National Assembly and two of the Senate. The nominees of the House of Representatives include MNA BarrÃster Gohar Ali Khan, Mna Asad Qaiser, Mna Hamid Raza and Mna Latif Khosa.
Senate nominees include Senator Shibli Faraz and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had previously initiated the consultation process by writing a letter to Omar Ayub on May 16, inviting him to participate in discussions about appointments.
In response to the Charter of Omar Ayub, Sadiq described the constitutional process for the formation of the Committee. He confirmed that the consultations between Prime Minister Shehbaz and the opposition leader continue and underline that the committee can only be formed after both parties present their proposed names.
“If the prime minister and the opposition leader fail to reach a consensus, the matter will be sent to the president of NA, who will then proceed to form a parliamentary committee,” says the letter.
After a formal request from the Prime Minister, the speaker will ask parliamentary leaders to present names for the committee. “The committee will be formed based on the representation of the party in the National Assembly, and the names will be proportionally included,” he said.
It is pertinent to know that the five -year period of Cec Sikandar Sultan Raja ended on January 26, along with two other members of the Electoral Commission, that is, Nisar Ahmad Durrani (Sindh) and Shah Muhammad Jatoi (Baluchistan).
The procedure to appoint the CEC and the members of the Electoral Commission is explained in article 213 of the Constitution, in which the prime minister and the opposition leader send three names to the President by consensus.
If there is no agreement on the names, the prime minister and the opposition leader will send their respective names to the parliamentary committee after which the president of the National Assembly will form a parliamentary committee of 12 members, with the same representation of the Treasury and the opposition banks.
The Committee will send a name of these names to the President for approval after a consensus.
According to article 217, after the expiration of the CEC mandate, the senior member will assume the responsibilities of the electoral chief commissioner and in case of his absence or vacancy, the main member will assume these responsibilities.
The other two members of the electoral body have more than two years to continue, since the term of the Electoral Commission (ECM) of Punjab Babar Hassan Bharwana will end on May 29, 2027, the term of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Justice (RETD) Ikramullah Khan will expire on May 31, 2027.
However, due to the deep political polarization, there was no previous indication of contact between the prime minister and the opposition leader in the National Assembly to deliberate with new names.
The PTI has already transferred to the Superior Court of Islamabad on the matter with Ayub and the opposition leader of the Senate, Shibli Faraz, challenging the delay in appointing a new CEC in March earlier this year.
The petition appoints the Federal Government, the President of the Senate, the President of the National Assembly and the ECP as respondents.
