ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court put more pressure on the government on Monday on the issue of appointment of a permanent chief election commissioner (CEC), but the latter appeared to be as shifty as ever, though it succeeded in getting one more day.

“We are hopeful that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khurshid Ahmed Shah who are meeting today (Monday) will reach a consensus on a name for the post of CEC,” Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt informed a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk.

On Nov 24, the bench had warned the government that the court would withdraw on Dec 5 its judge Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, who is working as acting CEC, if the office was not filled by Monday. The court had also indicated that it would consider issuing contempt notices to the prime minister and the leader of opposition for violating its directives.

On Monday, the attorney general seemed non-committal when the court asked him to come up with a concrete assurance that the meeting would produce positive results.

“I can only assure the court about this after seeking instructions from the government,” he said, adding that the prime minister was busy in some official business in Karachi but would return to Islamabad for the meeting.

But the court’s apprehensions later proved to be correct as nothing positive came out of the 60-minute meeting between the two constitutional consultees at the Prime Minister’s Office.

“We have not yet finalised any name for the CEC office,” the leader of opposition told reporters after his talks with the prime minister. He also declined to divulge the names being considered for the post.

“If I tell you the names, the respectable nominees will run away,” Mr Shah said in a lighter vein. He only said that five names were under consideration and the consultation would continue on Tuesday. “We want to appoint a non-controversial personality.”

He was of the opinion that after the resignation of Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim as CEC, the existing four members of the Election Commission also should have resigned.

During the hearing, the attorney general requested the court to adjourn further proceedings for a day so that he could place before it whatever had transpired during the meeting.

This is the fifth extension in deadline granted to the government.

Earlier, the court had set Oct 28 and Nov 13 and 25 and Dec 1 as deadlines for the appointment of CEC.

The names earlier considered for the coveted office included former chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, former acting chief justice Rana Bhagwandas and retired justices Nasir Aslam Zahid and Tariq Parvez, but the situation become complex when Justice Bhagwandas and Justice Jillani declined to accept the offer.

LG POLLS: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government assured the Supreme Court that the province was all set to hold the local bodies’ elections by the next spring.

KP’s Advocate General Abdul Latif Yousufzai submitted a report and said the ECP had also stated that it was ready to hold the elections by the end of April next year.

He said the provincial government had agreed to hold the elections under the bio-metric system only in Peshawar as a pilot project whereas the polling in the rest of the province would be held the same day on the existing electoral system.

The decision has been taken to avoid further delay after the ECP stated that the elections under the bio-metric system could prolong the process till Sept or Dec next year.

About Sindh and Punjab, the court ordered their law officers to immediately hold a meeting with the ECP and work out a date for the elections which should not exceed more than six months.

The two provinces are required to submit reports on Monday after holding the meeting with the commission.

The court also asked Sindh and Punjab to extend full cooperation to the ECP which has to carry out delimitation of wards in the two provinces.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2014