PTI names lawmakers for parliamentary committee to appoint CEC, ECP members

• PTI has nominated four MNAs and two Senators.
• Ayub says members nominated as part of process.
• Opposition leader sends letter to NA speaker. 

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has nominated opposition members for the parliamentary committee for selecting the chief election commissioner (CEC) and members of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Sharing names of opposition leaders, the leading opposition party has asked the government to initiate the formation of the parliamentary committee under Article 213(2B) for the appointment of the CEC and two members from Sindh and Balochistan.

Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan has shared a letter dated June 2, 2025, on social media, saying he has sent the letter to National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, "nominating members from the opposition for the parliamentary committee as part of the process of selecting the chief election commissioner and members Election Commission of Pakistan (member Balochistan and member Sindh)".

The PTI has nominated four members from the NA and two from the Senate for the parliamentary body — MNA Asad Qaiser, MNA Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza, MNA Sardar Latif Khosa, Senator Shibli Faraz and Senator Allama Raja Nasir.

Ayub said the members were nominated in accordance with the prescribed procedure and following the due consultation.

The PTI has formally announced names for the committee a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited thNA Opposition Leader for a meeting regarding consultations over the appointment of the CEC.

In a letter addressed to the opposition leader, the PM pointed out that the term of the CEC as well as two other members of the ECP culminated on January 26 but they have been continuing their duties under Article 215 of the Constitution.

Under Article 218, proposals for the CEC and members have to be sent to the parliamentary committee, the premier wrote.

It is pertinent to know that the five-year term of CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja ended on January 26, 2025, along with two other members of the Election Commission i.e., Nisar Ahmad Durrani (Sindh) and Shah Muhammad Jatoi (Balochistan).

The procedure for appointing the CEC and members of the Election Commission is explained in Article 213 of the Constitution, wherein the PM and the leader of the opposition send three names to the president by consensus.

If there is no agreement on the names, the prime minister and the leader of the opposition will send their respective names to the parliamentary committee after which the National Assembly speaker will form a 12-member parliamentary committee, having equal representation from the treasury and opposition benches.

The committee will send one name from these names to the president for approval after a consensus.

As per Article 217, upon the expiry of the CEC’s term, the senior member will assume the responsibilities of the CEC and in the event of his absence or vacancy, the senior member will assume these responsibilities.

The two other members of the electoral body have over two years to continue, as the term of the Election Commission Member (ECM) from Punjab Babar Hassan Bharwana will end on May 29, 2027, whereas the term of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa member Justice (retd) Ikramullah Khan will expire on May 31, 2027.

However, due to the deep political polarisation there had been no previous hint of contact between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly to deliberate on new names.

The PTI has already moved the Islamabad High Court over the matter with Ayub and Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz challenging the delay in appointing a new CEC in March earlier this year.

The petition names the federal government, the Senate chairman, the National Assembly speaker, and the ECP as respondents.

The petitioners argued that the tenures of the CEC, as well as the ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan, have expired, and that the delay in fresh appointments is in violation of the Constitution.

The petitioners requested that the court maintain that the prime minister, the NA speaker and the Senate chairman have failed to discharge their constitutional responsibility.

It stated that the court should direct the NA speaker to constitute a parliamentary committee give the names of NA members, and direct the chairman Senate to send the names of senators to the speaker NA.

The petitioners also requested the court to issue directives to the prime minister to hold meaningful talks with the opposition leader under Article 213 of the Constitution, and that the court should declare illegal staying in posts by the CEC and members of the commission despite expiry of their constitutional terms.