Pakistan gets new chief election commissioner

KARACHI, Pakistan

The government and the opposition in Pakistan on Tuesday named a former top bureaucrat as the country’s new chief election commissioner (CEC), ending a weeks-long deadlock over the issue, a minister said.

Sikander Sultan Raja who served as a federal secretary, will serve as the CEC for the next five years, Shireen Mazari -- minister for Human Rights and head of the parliamentary committee that made the key appointment -- told reporters in capital Islamabad.

Raja will replace Justice Raza Mohammad Khan, who retired in early December.

According to the 18th amendment in the Constitution, the prime minister and the opposition leader unanimously name the CEC. In case of disagreement, the matter goes to a parliamentary committee comprising equal number of treasury and opposition lawmakers. Both sides come up with three names each.

If the parliamentary committee also fails to reach a consensus, then the Supreme Court shall name the CEC, according to the country’s Constitution.

Raja was among the three nominees by the government for the key post.