Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali has taken Suo Motu notice of Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) dysfunctional condition.

According to a press release issued by the apex court on Wednesday, the notice was taken on clippings of different newspapers, stating that after the ECP member’s term completion, the commission is unable to perform the duties assigned to it under the constitution and electoral laws.

Consequently, various election processes including holding of elections for the vacant seats in the national and provincial assemblies, local government elections, issuance of notification of returned candidates and various other processes are not being completed and the timelines provided by Law are also not being followed.

Taking notice of the issue, the chief justice has directed the office to fix the matter in court Thursday (July 14, 2016) with notice to the Attorney General of Pakistan, along with other identical matters.

Justice Jamali remarked that the appointment of new officials should be made as early as possible as the department has become dysfunctional after the retirement of senior personnel. He said that the authorities cannot wait for six months, therefore, the orders regarding recruitment of new members should be implemented in a given time period.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar met opposition leader Khursheed Shah and discussed appointments of the ECP members. The government and the opposition met for the third time and discussed recruitment of the ECP officials and agreed on finalising the names within the constitutional duration.