Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) on Monday reiterated his government demand to form a parliamentary committee to appoint a new main election commissioner (CEC), a day after the end of the Sikander Sultan Raja mandate.
The PTI leader and the opposition figure, Omar Ayub, wrote to the president of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq, urging him to establish the committee to guarantee compliance with the constitutional requirements.
“The term of Sikander Sultan Raja ended yesterday. It has no moral authority to continue. He and the two retired commissioners should give up immediately, ”said Ayub on the social media platform X.
The Raja mandate was marked by the controversy, including the general elections of last year, which saw accusations of manipulated results, internet blackouts and delays. The Pakistan Electoral Commission (ECP) denied PTI’s claims, while the caregiver’s government attributed interruptions to the maintenance of law and order.
The tensions between Imran Khan and Raja party reached their maximum point in August 2022, when the ECP ruled that PTI had received prohibited foreign funds, a position that the party denies. Later that year, the Commission disqualified Khan from the public office on unst declared assets, a PTI verdict rejected as politically motivated.
Imran Khan, imprisoned since August 2023 for multiple positions, was withdrawn from office in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote. Once aligned with the powerful Pakistan army, Khan accused him of supporting his political rivals, accusations that the army denies.
The demand for a new CEC occurs when political tensions between the PTI and the government intensify. PTI last week retired from the conversations, citing unsatisfied lawsuits from judicial commissions to investigate anti -government protests in May 2023 and November 2024, and the release of Khan and political prisoners.
The Government’s negotiation team has pledged to respond to PTI’s demands before January 28, criticizing the party for withdrawing from conversations unilaterally. Meanwhile, the calls to appoint a new electoral chief still without resolving, even more intensifying the political confrontation.
