ISLAMABAD: Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali took oath as the 31st Acting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Thursday, DawnNews reported.

Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani administered the oath to Justice Jamali.

Justice Jamali took over from Justice Nasirul Mulk who resigned yesterday as acting CEC after his appointment as Chief Justice of Pakistan with effect from July 6.

Meanwhile, incumbent CJ Jillani would relinquish his duties on July 5.

Justice Jamali is the third acting CEC to have been appointed in less than a year. The only difference this time is that his two predecessors were senior most judges of the Supreme Court while he is not.

Also read: Justice Nasirul Mulk resigns as acting CEC

The CEC’s office fell vacant when Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim resigned last year (on July 31) after the Supreme Court’s verdict of amending the schedule for presidential elections.

Justice Ebrahim was of the view that it was nothing short of encroachment in the domain of the Election Commission.

He had prepared a note in this regard, but could not convince his fellow commission members to endorse it for fear of contempt proceedings. He then decided not to work with members who he thought should have supported the move to protect the independence of the ECP.