'CEC must be appointed in consultation with opposition'

Speakers of a forum have called upon the government that the chief election commissioner (CEC) must be appointed in consultation with the opposition and govt. allies after assurance of his credibility, reputation and impartiality; Intra party elections should be held as per the constitution of all political parties, whereas inheritance in the political parties should be discouraged and decisions within the party should be made in accordance with democratic norms and values.
In an open forum titled "Free and Fair Electoral Process: Challenges and Resolves" held at Quaid-e-Azam Hall in Faisalabad, which was arranged by the Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) in collaboration with Centre for Human Rights Education (CHRE) organised, speakers demanded that the election commission should be independent, and should constitute a system in collaboration with Nadra for registration of voters at the time of issuance of Computerised National Identity Card (CNICs).
This forum was joined by 140 Muslim and Christian participants from different schools of thought. The speakers of the open forum included; Naseem Anthony (Executive Secretary-AWAM), Samson Salamat (Director-CHRE), Shazia George, Riffat Dar (MPA-PPPP), Mian Tahir Ayub (Jamiat Islami), Sijad Haider Khan (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf), Malik Irfan Ashraf (Muthida Qaumi Movement), Arif Ayaz (Workers Party Pakistan) and Sakina Chaudhry Advocate.