Karachi: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has once again demanded the formation of a parliamentary committee to appoint a new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
This demand came a day after the tenure of the current Chief Election Commissioner ended. However, the government has not yet responded to PTI’s request.
Leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter), “On January 15, 2025, a letter was sent to the Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly to form a parliamentary committee for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner.”
He further added, “Sikandar Sultan Raja’s tenure ended yesterday (January 26, 2025). He no longer has the moral authority to continue in office. He and the two ‘retired’ commissioners should immediately step down.” Omar Ayub urged the Speaker to form a committee to fulfill this “important constitutional requirement.”
Under Sikandar Sultan Raja’s leadership, the general elections held last year were marred by controversy, as they were affected by mobile network shutdowns, internet service disruptions, and delays in result announcements.
PTI and other opposition parties accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), under Raja’s supervision, of manipulating election results to benefit their political opponents.
However, the ECP strongly denied these allegations, while the caretaker government at the time claimed that the mobile and internet services were suspended to maintain law and order, according to Independent Urdu.
The tensions between PTI and Sikandar Sultan Raja intensified in August 2022 when the Election Commission ruled that PTI had violated the constitution by receiving millions of dollars in foreign funding from countries such as the US, UAE, UK, and Australia while concealing related details. PTI has consistently denied hiding any information regarding foreign funding.
In October 2022, in a separate decision, the Election Commission disqualified Imran Khan from holding public office in a case related to the concealment of assets acquired from the sale of state gifts.
Imran Khan and his party denied any wrongdoing.
Since August 2023, Imran Khan has been in jail facing multiple charges. He was removed from office in April 2022 through a no-confidence motion.
Following his removal, the former prime minister launched an aggressive campaign against the military, accusing it of supporting his political rivals.
Both the military and the government have firmly rejected his claims, with the military stating that it does not interfere in politics.
PTI’s latest demand for the formation of a parliamentary committee to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner comes at a time when tensions with the government have escalated following the breakdown of negotiations.
The two sides had initiated talks last month to ease political tensions in the country. PTI had demanded the release of Imran Khan and all political prisoners, along with the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the anti-government protests in May 2023 and November 2024.
Last week, PTI announced that it would not participate in further negotiations until the judicial commission was formed. In response, the government criticized PTI for “unilaterally ending the talks,” and stated that the government’s negotiation committee would respond to PTI’s demands by January 28.
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