Justice Jilani takes oath as acting CEC

ISLAMABAD: Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani on Saturday took oath as the acting Chief Election Commissioner on Saturday.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry administered the oath to Justice Jilani, a day after nominating the latter as the acting CEC until the appointment of a new chief election commissioner.

The appointment was made in accordance with terms of Article 217(2) of the Constitution and was instantly notified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The appointment comes nearly two weeks after the office fell vacant when Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim resigned (on July 31) after the Supreme Court’s verdict of amending the schedule for presidential elections.

Justice Ebrahim was of the view that it was nothing short of encroachment in the domain of the Election Commission. He had prepared a note in this regard, but could not convince his fellow members of the commission to endorse it for fear of contempt proceedings and decided not to work with members who he thought should have supported the move to protect the independence of the ECP.

He was the first CEC to have been appointed for an extended term of five years, but resigned after heading the commission for a little over a year.

The president accepted his resignation and the vacancy of the office was notified by the ministry of parliamentary affairs on August 13. On receiving a copy of the notification, the ECP had sent a reference to the chief justice for the appointment of an acting chief election commissioner on August 15.

The government has yet to initiate the process for appointment of a new chief election commissioner. A 12-member parliamentary committee will finalise the matter.