Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, judge of Supreme Court, will today (Saturday) take oath as acting chief election commissioner (CEC). Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will administer the oath.
The oath-taking ceremony will be held at Government House (Old Governor House), Kashmir Point, Murree. The chief justice had nominated Justice Jan as acting CEC on Thursday. CEC Justice (r) Hamid Ali Mirza retired on Friday.
The chief justice has observed in his order that if new CEC is appointed in accordance with provisions of the constitution, the nomination of Justice Jan shall be deemed to have been withdrawn without any consequences. According to a press release of Supreme Court, Justice Jan may continue to hold the office for an indefinite period because the new process for appointment of the CEC under the 18th Amendment is yet to begin, and may take months. However, according to government sources, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will soon start the process for appointment of the new CEC. Under the 18th Amendment, the tenure of the CEC has been increased to five years from three years. The CEC was earlier appointed by the president, but under Article 213 of the constitution the prime minister in consultation with the leader of opposition in the National Assembly will forward three names to a parliamentary committee for confirmation of one of them.
The parliamentary committee is to be formed by the speaker of the National Assembly with equal representation from the treasury and opposition benches, based on their strength in parliament. The committee will have one-third of its members from the Senate. If there is no agreement on the three names between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, both sides will forward separate lists to the parliamentary committee which will be empowered to confirm one name. The law is, however, quiet about what will happen if the committee fails to reach consensus on one name. It is believed that in such a situation the government would be able to get a majority decision in favour of its choice.
