Islamabad:
The Supreme Court Council (SJC) has rejected the complaints filed against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two members of the Election Commission in Pakistan (ECP).
A statement dated August 15 read that complaints against “Cec Mr Sikandar Sultan Raja and members of ECP, Mr Nisar Ahmed Durrani and Mr Shah Muhammad Jatoi have been rejected by SJC at his meetings held on November 8, 2024 and December 13, 2024.”
The statement provided no details of the complaints.
Although the five-year period of Cec Raja, Sindh member Durrani and Balochistan member Jatoi ended on January 26, they will remain in Embed in accordance with the 26th constitutional amendment.
The change allows CEC and members to remain in office until their successors are appointed. Under Article 215 (2). 4 of the Constitution, these appointments must be made within 45 days. However, the deadline on March 12 without any concrete progress.
Raja’s tenure has been destroyed by controversy, with the opposition often criticizing him over delays in holding parliamentary elections, denial of PTI’s “bat” symbol and alleged manipulation of voting results.
PTI had filed a complaint for SJC in July 2024, sought the removal of Raja and four members of the ECP. The complaint claimed that on July 12, the Pointed Court of the Tip Court has determined that the election surveillance used powers in violation of the Constitution with evil and made a skewed interpretation of January 13 to refuse the election symbol for “bats” to the former reigning party.
