PML-N refuses to add more names for Chief Election Commissioner

Rejecting the request of the government to give more names, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that he would stick to the names he had already proposed to a parliamentary committee for appointment of new chief election commissioner (CEC).

Terming the government’s proposal to add more names to broaden the choice as far from clear or honest, he categorically said he would not do it.

In a statement issued from London, the senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) observed, “As leader of the opposition I will not propose any (new) name for the CEC nor will I be a party to any proposal of the government”.

In his view, all opposition parties will have to develop concurrence and consultation on any change or modification in the panel for the sake of consensus. He claimed that major opposition parties were taken on confidence for the three names that had submitted to the bi-partisan parliamentary committee.

The committee, which is headed by Syed Khurshid Shah, is responsible for final approval of the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner.

The senior lawmaker stated, “Despite the fact that there was no legal or constitutional obligation on the opposition leader to consult opposition parties he had done so and even contacted the parties having no representation in parliament”.

According to his claim, he held consultations with Jamaati-e-Islami (JI), Pakhtunkhwa Mili Awami Party (PkMAP), PPP-Sherpao, PTI, Balochistan National Party (BNP) and Sindh’s nationalist parties before submitting the names to the committee.

The opposition leader was of the opinion that the deadlock over the issue of CEC’s appointment would continue if the government insists on getting its own choice filled the post.

Chaudhry Nisar said, “If the intention is to hold free and fair elections acceptable to all then the consensus on the new CEC can be arrived at within no time”. But, he said, the intentions of “the government are far from clear or honest”.

He was of the opinion that his party would follow the same police in the case of appointment of an interim government.

Ch Nisar was of the opinion that they could only ensure free, fair and transparent elections only through this process.

It is vital to mention here that the tenure or CEC under the 18^th Amendment has been increased to five years from three and the procedure for his appointment has been changed.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 3 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.