Sikandar Sultan Raja named Pakistan's new Chief Election Commissioner

The Pakistan government and the Opposition on Tuesday agreed to appoint former bureaucrat Sikandar Sultan Raja as the new Chief Election Commissioner, ending several months of deadlock over key appointments to the election commission.

The two sides also named Nisar Durrani and Shah Mohammad Jatoi as members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from Sindh and Balochistan provinces, respectively.

A bipartisan parliamentary panel has agreed to appoint former bureaucrat Raja as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), said Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, who chaired the meeting.

A consensus was also reached to fill the two other vacancies in the CEC, he said.

The key post of the CEC fell vacant early last month when Raza Khan retired after completing his five-year tenure.

Two posts of members have been lying vacant for several months.

Raja has held several key positions, including Railway Secretary, in the Pakistani administration. He will be first bureaucrat to be appointed as the CEC as all his predecessors were retired judges.

The CEC and its four members, the latter representing the four provinces, are appointed by consensus between the government and the opposition to ensure neutrality of the Commission.