ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has officially dismissed all misconduct complaints filed against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja and two senior members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Nisar Ahmad Durrani and Shah Muhammad Jatoi.
The decision, which clears all three officials of wrongdoing, was published on the Supreme Court’s official website and pertains to complaint numbers 532/2021, 557/2022, and 563/2022. These cases were reviewed during SJC sessions held on November 8 and December 13 of 2024.
While the SJC did not name the complainants in its public statement, the complaints are widely believed to have been submitted by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The allegations centered on purported irregularities and manipulation during the general elections.
This ruling arrives at a politically sensitive time, as the impartiality of the ECP has been under persistent scrutiny from opposition parties. Nonetheless, the SJC, the only constitutional body empowered to adjudicate such cases involving senior ECP officials, found no grounds for action, thereby fully exonerating the CEC and the two commission members.
Although Sikandar Sultan Raja has now completed his official term, he remains in office under the 26th Constitutional Amendment, which permits him to continue until a successor is chosen.
On June 4, 2025, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally reached out to Opposition Leader Omar Ayub to begin the constitutional process of selecting a new CEC and two ECP members. Each leader is required to propose three candidates for each post. If they fail to agree on the appointments, the matter will be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary committee for resolution.
