February 21; PILDAT has welcomed the Government and the Opposition agreeing on a �system of reaching consensus� on the appointment for the caretaker governments in the centre and the provinces in the 20th Amendment to the Constitution which was passed unanimously by the Parliament on February 20, 2012.

Fearing that without a prior agreement on the definition of �consultation� between the Government and the Opposition on the appointment of Caretaker Government, the country may face a political deadlock close to the General Election, PILDAT had filed a Constitution Petition in February 2012 before the Supreme Court asking the Court to interpret the scope of 'Consultation' between the President and the outgoing Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly for the formation of Caretaker Governments before the next General Election. This prompted the Opposition and the Government to seize this issue and move swiftly to address this through the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.

Article 224 (1A) of the Constitution of Pakistan, after 18th amendment to the Constitution, provided for the appointment of caretaker Prime Minister and Caretaker Chief Ministers by the President of Pakistan and the concerned Governors respectively in consultation with the Prime Minister / Chief Ministers and Leaders of Opposition in the outgoing Assemblies. However, no definition of the word 'consultation' existed in the Constitution raising concerns that a deadlock may arise, reminiscent of the differences on the appointment of the NAB chairman.

20th Amendment to the Constitution has now inserted a new Article 224-A which stipulates that in the case the outgoing Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition do not agree on any person to be appointed the Caretaker Prime Minister, within 3 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly, they will forward two names each to a Parliamentary Committee to be immediately constituted by the Speaker of the National Assembly. The Committee will need to decide on a name within three days. The article further stipulates that if the Committee is unable to decide on a name, these names will be referred to the Election Commission of Pakistan which will make the final decision within next 2 days. Similar procedure is to be followed in the provinces in the case of disagreement between the outgoing Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

PILDAT welcomed both the initiative and swiftness of the opposition in seizing of this issue as well the maturity of the Government and its spirit of conciliation and accommodation, in agreeing on the refining of the procedure of reaching agreement on the appointment of neutral Caretaker Governments for the purpose of holding General Election in Pakistan.

While the 20th Constitutional Amendment is silent on consulting the parties outside the Parliament on appointing consensus-based, neutral caretaker governments, PILDAT proposed that in order to take all political stakeholders on board, parties not represented currently in the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies of Pakistan, should also be consulted in the appointment of neutral caretaker Governments, as also in the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner. The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, MNA, had earlier announced that parties outside the Parliament will also be consulted on the appointment of the caretaker governments in the centre and provinces before the next General Election.

PILDAT reiterated this demand that it had also earlier made in its recent report on State of Electoral Reforms in Pakistan released on January 31, 2012 and in the Citizens Forum held to discuss the report on February 7, 2012.