Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, has formally written to Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq, urging the formation of a parliamentary committee to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

In his letter, Omar Ayub submitted the names of six opposition members—four from the National Assembly and two from the Senate—to be included in the proposed committee. The suggested names from the National Assembly include Asad Qaiser, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, and Latif Khosa, while Shibli Faraz and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas were nominated from the Senate.

The move comes under Article 213(2)(b) of the Constitution, which mandates that appointments to the ECP must be made in consultation between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, followed by approval from a bipartisan parliamentary committee.

Political observers have termed this a key step toward ensuring transparency and consensus ahead of the next general elections.

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The development follows Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent letter to Omar Ayub, in which he invited him for a meeting to begin consultations on the new appointments. The PM stated that the terms of the current CEC and two ECP members expired on January 26, but they have continued to serve under Article 215 until successors are appointed.

In his letter, Shehbaz Sharif emphasised the need to send final recommendations to the parliamentary committee under Article 218 and expressed readiness to meet the opposition leader to discuss nominations for the constitutional posts.