ISLAMABAD: Newly-appointed Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan resigned as chief justice of the Federal Shariat Court on Friday.

Sources told Dawn that the resignation was received at the Presidency and accepted by President Mamnoon Hussain.

Justice Khan will be formally sworn in as CEC for a five-year term on Saturday. The oath will be administered by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, who had also served as acting CEC from December 2013 until his appointment as the chief justice in July this year.

The tenure of CEC and the four members of the commission had been enhanced from three to five years under the 18th Amendment in 2010, but the change came into effect following the retirement of then-CEC, retired Justice Hamid Ali Mirza.

Retired Justice Fakhrud­din G. Ebrahim was the first CEC to be appointed for a five-year term, but he resigned after serving for only a little over a year.

Monday is likely to be Justice Khan’s first day in office. He is expected to hold a ceremonial meeting with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members, officials and staff and will be briefed on the working of the commission.

He assumes the charge at a time when the ECP is under pressure to hold local government elections across the country, particularly in Punjab and Sindh, without any further delays, even as provincial governments continue to drag their feet.

Several important matters have been pending with the ECP due to absence of a full-time CEC. The parliamentary committee on electoral reforms was recently given a technical briefing on the merits and demerits of electronic voting machines and biometric devices, but was told that the ECP would give its final recommendations after it got a permanent chief.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2014