The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will meet this evening to choose a candidate for the job of caretaker provincial chief executive for Punjab amid ongoing disagreements between the leaders of the ruling party and the opposition.
At 6 o’clock a meeting will be held informally to discuss ideas suggested by the parliamentary committee in order to come to a consensus on the chosen name. The meeting will be presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and will be attended by all four members as well as the ECP secretary.
The election watchdog has till Sunday [today] to choose a candidate for the caretaker CM position since the commission’s two-day grace period under Article 224-A of the Constitution expires today.
Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera and Naveed Akram Cheema have been suggested by outgoing CM Parvez Elahi while opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz has endorsed Mohsin Naqvi and Ahad Cheema for the caretaker position.
After the Punjab Assembly was dissolved last week, the issue of the caretaker CM’s nomination encountered an extraordinary delay because of disagreements between the state administration and the opposition on the nominees.
