Compulsion to appoint SC judge as CEC must end, says Shah

NA Opp leader says bureaucrat or politician could also be appointed to CEC office

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) parliamentarian and leader of opposition in the National Assembly, Khursheed Shah on Wednesday objected to the compulsion of appointing a Supreme Court judge as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), saying that a bureaucrat or a politician could also be appointed to the office.

Shah said this during a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The two leaders discussed the matter of appointment of the CEC with the apex court directing that a decision be finalised by Oct 28.

The opposition leader and the prime minister agreed to submit a response in the Supreme Court after discussing it with their respective legal teams. Shah said the response will elaborate the reasons for a delay in the appointment.

The call from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the opposition leader came against the backdrop of a warning given by the apex court a day before in which it said that the Supreme Court would withdraw its judge — who is currently serving as the interim CEC — if the post was not filled permanently by Oct 28.

“It has been made clear to the attorney general that if the appointment is not made within the timeframe, we will consider withdrawing the Supreme Court judge from the Election Commission of Pakistan,” Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk had observed after Tuesday’s proceedings.

Currently, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali is serving as acting CEC. Justice Jamali replaced the current chief justice in that office when he was sworn in on July 23 as the third acting CEC in less than a year.