The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency (PILDAT) has noted with great concern that the federal government has proposed a two-year term for the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in a bill introduced in the National Assembly on Monday.
The Election Commission (Oath of office, salary, allowances, perks and privileges) Bill, 2011, if passed, will fix the official term of ECP members to 2 years from the date of administering the oath. PILDAT has learnt that the ECP itself had recommended that the official term of its members should be fixed at five years, but the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs decided to arbitrarily reduce this term to two years.
It is important to note that the 18th Amendment had increased the official term of the chief election commissioner from three to five years, but it left the question of the members’ term and other service conditions unanswered. PILDAT has taken a strong exception to the government’s efforts to reduce the term of ECP members to two years and has demanded that this term be fixed at five years like that of the chief election commissioner.