PM Shehbaz Invites Omar Ayub for Talks on New ECC Appointment

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formally begun the constitutional consultation process for the appointment of a new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). In a letter addressed to Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, the Prime Minister invited him for a meeting to discuss potential candidates for these key electoral positions.

The tenures of the current CEC and two ECP members officially ended on January 26, 2025. However, under Article 215 of the Constitution, they continue to serve until their successors are appointed. The Prime Minister highlighted in his letter that, according to Article 218, the nominations must be submitted to a parliamentary committee for final selection.

This initiative comes in the wake of legal proceedings initiated by opposition leaders Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz, who filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court on March 25. The petition argues that the continued presence of the CEC and ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan is unconstitutional and urges the court to compel the government to expedite the appointment process.

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The opposition has accused the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and the Senate Chairman of failing to meet their constitutional responsibilities. They have requested the court to instruct the Speaker to form a parliamentary committee and for the Senate Chairman to submit a list of nominees for further action.

Earlier reports suggested that the issue had become bogged down in bureaucratic delays, with correspondence between the Speaker’s office, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, and the Prime Minister’s Office yielding no concrete results. Sources indicate that the government now plans to finalize candidate nominations before proceeding with the committee’s formation.