Consensus on Chief Election Commissioner

Apparently the controversy brewed over the nomination of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has paved the way for an end after the government and opposition parties reached to an agreement on Justice (Retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim for the crucial slot.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) plays vital role in holding free and transparent elections, and thus to the entire democratic setup.

Although Justice Fakhruddin is a former judge of the Supreme Court, he hadn’t retired from his post rather he had tendered resignation in the tough times of General Ziaul Haq. His braveness describes that he didn’t regard the job a sinecure.

Almost all the major political parties have accepted him without any reservations despite his previous semi-political tasks.

After his legal career, Fakhruddin G Ebrahim was appointed as Attorney General in 1971. Later, he refused to take oath as a PCO judge of the Supreme Court in 1981.

Later, he was appointed Governor Sindh in first government of Benazir Bhutto in April 1989. He held the same office until she was sacked in 1990.

Fakhruddin also held the Law portfolio in 1993 but the Justice portfolio in 1996-7, thus managing to hold office in caretaker governments that followed the dismissal of both the PPP (Pakistan Peoples’ Party) and the PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz).

Despite he served many posts in PPP’s regime, he is highly regard in even those circles which oppose the ruling party. This is the reason, the PML-N proposed his name for the high-profile post.

He was one of the few people who are untainted by the Musharraf’s period. Although he has been kept lively by actively as a lawyer, his age only be considered a negative point in his selection.

There are many challenges ahead of conducting the next general polls which falls due at the beginning of his tenure, even if they are not called ahead of time.

The toughest task for him will be updating the electoral rolls, particularly since the existing rolls have been found to have been padded.

It is vital to t mention here that the apex court of the country had already directed the ECP to update the electoral rolls at the earliest. The challenge ahead demands the sort of commitment Justice Fakhruddin has been showing all his life.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 11 2012. Filed under National, Opinion, Pakistan. 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.