Justice Fakhruddin G Ebrahim’s appointment challenged in Supreme Court

In quite an unexpected move, the appointment of Justice Fakhruddin G Ebrahim as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has been challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Shahid Orazkzai on Monday filed a petition with the apex court, challenging the recent appointment on which all major political parties showed consensus.

In his view, Fakhruddin’s appointment was flawed because of his old-age and being the former provincial governor. He also prayed for the issuance of a stay-order against the appointment.

The government has already issued a notification to appoint Fakhruddin G Ebrahim as CEC for the next five years. Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari had given formal approval for his appointment on advice of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.

The Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice has unanimously appointed Fakhruddin G Ebrahim as the Chief Election Commissioner to hold free and, fair and transparent polls.

However, constitutional experts are deeply divided over the matter regarding age and health of the newly appointed CEC.

Some of the experts are called for an age-limit on all constitutional posts including that of the CEC while other consider it unnecessary for all posts.

Former Secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Kanwar Dilshad said that Pakistan should follow the suit of Bangladesh and India on the rules regarding age of the election commission, particularly considering the importance of the post in the wake of the 18^th and 20^th Constitutional Amendments.

However, he was quite optimistic that Fakhruddin will be able to handle the upcoming general elections.

Ahmad Raza Khan Kasuri, the famous lawyer and constitutional expert, said that how a person could deliver when he has already attained the age of 85. In his view, the parliamentary committee should be asked by the president to review its decision regarding appointment of the CEC.

JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on the other day also stated that it could be hard for the election commission to understand elections’ complications at this age.

Citing the precedence set by the neighboring countries, he urged the authorities concerned to fix age-limit for all constitutional posts.

Although Fakhruddin G Ebrahim is widely respected as a constitutional expert and jurist, a few sections have been expressed reservations on other counts.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=28944

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 16 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, 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.