With only 18 days left until the retirement of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the consultation process between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omer Ayub for appointing their replacements has yet to begin.
The chief election commissioner, along with ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan, is set to retire on January 26. However, according to the 26th Amendment, the current officeholders will continue in their roles until new appointments are finalized.
As per the Constitution, the prime minister and the opposition leader are required to consult and propose three mutually agreed names for the position of chief election commissioner and ECP members. These names are then forwarded to a 12-member parliamentary committee, which makes the final decision.
In case the two leaders fail to reach a consensus, each will submit three separate names to the committee, which will then deliberate and finalize the appointments.
The eligibility criteria for the chief election commissioner include being a former Supreme Court judge, a technocrat, or a bureaucrat under the age of 68.
