ISLAMABAD : Lack of mandatory consultation process between Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly has delayed the appointment of two members of the ECP.
According to Article 215 (4) inserted in the Constitution through the 22nd Amendment, the vacancy in the office of the commissioner or a member shall be filled within 45 days. The ECP has been incomplete for six weeks after its members from Sindh and Balochistan retired on January 26.
The mechanism for the retirement of two members after their half-term in office was put in place through the 22nd Amendment to ensure the continuity of the electoral body. Article 215 of the Constitution in its amended form reads: “The Commissioner [and a member] shall, subject to this Article, hold office for a term of five years from the day he enters upon his office.” A proviso to the article reads: “Provided that two of the members shall retire after the expiration of the first two and a half years and two shall retire after the expiration of the next two and a half years: Provided further that the Commission shall for the first term of office of members draw a lot as to which two members shall retire after the first two and a half years.”
