Overview
- On Monday Achakzai formally wrote to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to begin the constitutionally required consultations to nominate a new chief election commissioner and two provincial ECP members.
- The statutory five-year terms of the CEC and the ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan ended on January 26, 2025, but a proviso added by the 26th Constitutional Amendment has allowed the incumbents to remain in office until successors are appointed.
- Achakzai cited Article 213(2A) and Article 218(2)(b), which require the prime minister to consult the leader of the opposition and then forward three names to a Parliamentary Committee for hearing and confirmation.
- The opposition alliance TTAP held a high-level meeting chaired by Achakzai that repeated concerns about the delay, linked the issue to wider political grievances including access to Imran Khan’s doctors, and asked the prime minister for an early meeting to finalise nominees.
- If the government continues to delay, critics warn this could weaken public confidence in the ECP ahead of future elections and the next steps to watch are whether the prime minister accepts Achakzai’s meeting request and forwards names to the parliamentary committee for confirmation.