PM invites PTI’s Omar Ayub for consultation for appointing new ECP chief

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited National Assembly’s Opposition Leader Omar Ayub for a meeting on consultations over the appointment of a new chief election commissioner (CEC).

In a letter addressed to the opposition leader, the PM pointed out that the term of CEC as well as two other members of the ECP ended on January 26 but they have been continuing their duties under Article 215 of the Constitution. Under Article 218, proposals for the CEC and members have to be sent to the parliamentary committee, the premier wrote.

It is pertinent to know that the five-year term of CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja ended on January 26, along with two other members of the Election Commission i.e., Nisar Ahmad Durrani (Sindh) and Shah Muhammad Jatoi (Balochistan).

The procedure for appointing the CEC and members of the Election Commission is explained in Article 213 of the Constitution, wherein the PM and the leader of the opposition send three names to the president by consensus.

The two other members of the electoral body have over two years to continue, as the term of the Election Commission Member (ECM) from Punjab Babar Hassan Bharwana will end on May 29, 2027, whereas the term of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa member Justice (retd) Ikramullah Khan will expire on May 31, 2027.

However, due to the deep political polarisation there had been no previous hint of contact between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly to deliberate on new names.

The PTI has already moved the Islamabad High Court over the matter with Ayub and Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz challenging the delay in appointing a new CEC in March earlier this year. The petition names the federal government, Senate chairman, National Assembly speaker, and ECP as respondents.