The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday returned a petition filed by the opposition’s Rehbar Committee seeking an order for the appointment of chief election commissioner (CEC) and two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The court returned the petition by raising objection that the Rehbar Committee has not moved the appropriate forum and that the matter cannot be heard directly by the Supreme Court. It was also stated that the certificate provided along with the petition does not meet the legal requirements.
Earlier on January 1, the Supreme Court was moved against the government’s possible move to bring in a presidential ordinance to amend rules of the parliamentary panel tasked with deciding nominees for the posts of the chief election commissioner and two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan. A petition filed in the apex court had stated that the government wanted to appoint CEC and two members from Sindh and Balochistan of its choice by way of amending rules of the panel. It had submitted that the government was trying to replace the word ‘two-thirds majority’ with ‘simple majority’, which according to it, would be a violation of articles 213 and 218 of the constitution.
