PTI Leaders Petition IHC Over Delay in CEC Appointment

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz, opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate, respectively, have filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging the delay in the appointment of a new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The petition names the federal government, the Senate chairman, the National Assembly speaker, and the ECP as respondents. The petitioners argue that the tenures of the CEC and ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan have expired, and the delay in making new appointments is a violation of the Constitution.

The petitioners seek a court ruling stating that the prime minister, NA speaker, and Senate chairman have failed to fulfill their constitutional duties. They have requested the court to direct the NA speaker to form a parliamentary committee and submit names of NA members, while asking the Senate chairman to send the names of senators to the NA speaker.

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Furthermore, the petitioners have called for a directive to the prime minister to engage in meaningful talks with the opposition leader, as required under Article 213 of the Constitution, and for the court to declare the continued stay of the CEC and ECP members in their posts as illegal, despite the expiration of their constitutional terms.