Senate and secrecy

The upcoming Senate elections next month are assuming more and more complications. In the first place, there is the question of whether the balloting for the Senate polls should be open or in secret. The ruling PTI has already moved the Supreme Court for a verdict on this matter, after issuing an ordinance seeking an open ballot instead of the secret ballot used in the past. The PTI does not have the two-thirds majority needed to move a constitutional amendment in parliament, which some jurists say is necessary to bring about any change in the method of balloting for the Senate. However, various proposals are coming forward from legal and judicial experts, such as changing the definition of how 'secret' is to be determined, and possibly finding a way to put the name of the person who cast the vote on the ballot sheet. Others argue that this defies the basic principle of a secret ballot and the right of persons to vote according to their conscience, rather than go by a particular line. The PTI essentially favours a proportional list system, under which the number of senators elected to the Senate would be based strictly on the number of MPAs belonging to a party in each province. This would tie down the vote to a particular list given out before the balloting and will change the method of secret ballots, which has so often in the past allowed party members from various provinces to change alliances, for a number of reasons.

There are also other complications. The nomination of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who would take on current Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh in the Senate, seems to have raised much concern within the PTI, with the party saying he is ineligible under Article 62 to stand for elections. This is a matter that could again end up before the courts. The courts then are playing a full-fledged role in the Senate process and Maryam Nawaz Sharif has already asked for a fair hearing for all sides, rather than any intervention in a process that should be determined by parliament. This is fundamental to the parliamentary democracy we run in our country, and any change would have far-reaching consequences.

The matter of the Senate elections is said to have also taken up most of the PM's attention; he has been meeting senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and also other provinces and has set up committees to determine how to conduct the election. In the meanwhile, PTI MPAs are deeply displeased, notably in Sindh, with the ticket awarded to Faisal Vawda. It is believed that Vawda, who is already a member of the National Assembly, is eager to ensure he remains in an office of power, even if he loses the petition filed before the ECP for his removal from parliament on the basis that he was a dual national when he contested the election. The ECP, meanwhile, has told the court that it has the power to determine how elections should be held, and has always made every effort to ensure they are held as per the rules laid down and the requirements of the constitution, and that the Senate elections can be held through secret voting only. The Supreme Court seems to disagree with this argument and has questioned the whole concept of 'secrecy'. In a nutshell, the whole matter seems to have taken on a life of its own. And in parliamentary matters, it is thought the PDM may opt for a vote of no confidence against the prime minister if Yousuf Raza Gilani manages to win a seat in parliament. All this and more is then on the horizon as possibilities in the very near future.