Sikandar Sultan Raja named for CEC's slot as deadlock between govt, opposition breaks.

ISLAMABAD -- After months of deadlock on the appointment of a chief election commissioner (CEC), the government and the opposition have decided on Sikandar Sultan Raja as the new head of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Both the government and the opposition also agreed to Nisar Durrani as the ECP member from Sindh, while Shah Muhammad Jatoi will fill the vacant slot for Balochistan.

"It is good that Parliament itself decided the matter and no other institution was involved in the matter," Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said as she announced the decision. "The names will be sent to the prime minister today for finalisation."

"Both sides showed flexibility [on the matter] and this is a good omen," senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said after the announcement.

Sources had earlier told The News that it was highly likely that the final decision on the key appointments would be formally announced today (Tuesday).

The announcement was eventually made after a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of the CEC and members of the ECP.

Sources had explained that the committee had agreed that the opposition panel would name candidates for the vacant seats of ECP members from Balochistan and Sindh, while...