Pakistan's election chief is 21 months past his term as the PM stalls on a successor
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and Election Commission of Pakistan members Nisar Ahmed Durrani (Sindh) and Shah Muhammad Jatoi (Balochistan) completed their five-year terms on 26 January 2025, but a proviso added to Article 215(1) by the October 2024 26th Constitutional Amendment lets them stay until successors are appointed. The same commission ran the disputed February 2024 general election. In August 2025 the Supreme Judicial Council dismissed earlier misconduct complaints against them, and on 11 February 2026 it dismissed PTI's July 2024 complaint seeking their removal for failing to hold free and fair elections. As of 7 September 2026, ARY News reported, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had not answered Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai's letter seeking the constitutionally mandatory consultation on new appointments.
they would continue to hold the offices till their respective successors are in place
The SJC, however, dismissed the complaint in its meeting held on February 11, 2026 after considering it.
The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has dismissed all complaints filed against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja
the prime minister has not yet responded to a letter sent by Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai last month
Not yet contacted for this story.
Not yet contacted for this story.
Not yet contacted for this story.
No outcome recorded yet.